Harry Potter's Bloody Hogwarts
by marjorieayamekuran
Summary: Harry is in his 5th year at Hogwarts. His 'normal' life as a human is no more. His parents were actually Pure-blood Vampires! Now that he's bound by the curse of blood, what will happen and why are vampires in the school this year! This fanfiction is inspired by: yinngoh's Exchange Students and TheAnimeWriterLover's Way Of The Vampires. This is my first story so please REVIEW! XD
1. Before Starting School

This fanfiction is inspired by: yinngoh's **Exchange Students** and TheAnimeWriterLover's **Way Of The Vampires**

This story will be based in Harry's 5th year. I hope you like this fanfiction

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own either Vampire Knight nor Harry Potter. _**I'm just a fan of the two!**_

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Chapter 1: Before starting School

Harry was just now attacked by dementors and was walking the street carrying Dudley while Mrs. Figg was tottering along in front of them not wanting anything to happen again. They walked from Little Whinging , then they entered Wisteria Walk and finally Privet Drive. Once they've reached Harry's uncles house Mrs. Figg told him to go inside and not to come out until someone came for him. Harry did as he was told and dragged Dudley along with him. Petunia Dursley was sitting in the couch with a fan on her hands. Once Harry entered with Dudley, Petunia began to shout at poor Harry. Uncle Vernon was at the kitchen and heard the ruckus, running all the way to the living room. Uncle Vernon was furious at what he saw. Dudley was in a sofa looking like a total loon holding a bucket in his arms while Petunia was trying to comfort her son. Petunia was talking to Dudley but the said boy didn't pay too much attention only answering with the word "him". Dudley knew that if he said that it was Harry's fault the said boy would get in trouble; and probably a biting from Vernon from outrage. After the little intercourse between Harry and Uncle Vernon shouting at him an owl came flying to where they were and dropped a letter in front of Harry. The boy began to read the letter while Vernon began shouting again about not wanting any more owls in **HIS** house. There was shock in the boy's face as he read the piece of paper. After that Uncle Vernon shot him in his room locking him in it. Then the man went to his family and took them to the hospital.

To say that Harry was enraged was an understatement, he was damn right angry at what happened. After so much trouble he went to sleep only to have the most peculiar dream.

 _ **Dream**_

 _He was walking in the most beautiful forest ever seen. The forest was a beautiful shade of green with tall trees of different kinds. There were also many kind of flowers in its surroundings with different forms and colors. The boy was mesmerized by the beautiful view. Harry felt breathless for a moment as he took everything in._

 _After a few minutes of walking through the forest he began to feel something different. There was something different that he couldn't put a finger in. In a second he was standing in front of a mansion that looked more like a castle of some sort. In that very moment a woman with red hair and green eyes that resembled his mother very much strode out of the building. Harry stared at the woman for a few seconds; the said woman locked eyes with Harry as well and giving him the most dazzling smile that he knew was his mother's right away._

 _In a second the woman was in front of him and giving the boy the most wonderful hug and kissing his forehead repeatedly. Harry wrapped his arms around his mother's waist and buried his face in her chest. At that moment he felt for the first time happiness and began to sob._

" _Harry," his mother said in the sweetest of voices. "My beautiful baby boy."_

" _Mom," Harry said still sobbing. She smiled at him and kissed his tear stained cheek._

" _Harry, my boy" Lilly began. "If you're hear now means that the spell that I placed in you has lifted. I'm afraid that no-body has been truthful to you since the beginning. Your father and I even though we died trying to protect you…We haven't been truthful to anyone. We were both pure-blooded vampires from different families. My true family name is Kuran not Evans. The Evans took me in when my parents died trying to protect me and my little twin sister Yuuki from a bad guy. Your father was a descendent of the Potter pure-blood family. Both of our families had magical blood in them so to speak. Once I was turn into a human by my mother, my magical blood awakened, making me a witch instead."_

 _Harry's head was spinning with all the information that he was receiving at the moment. He looked at his mother in confusion while trying to process all of the information. "Mom," Harry began. "If what your telling me is true then what is Petunia to you?"_

 _Lilly thought for a few seconds before replying, "well, Petunia is the first born of the Evans family who adopted me. No-one of the family talked about it though. Petunia thought that I was born from the Evans but somewhere inside her head knew that I wasn't really related to her calling me a freak of nature." Lilly stopped at that moment recalling the past event. A tear fell from her beautiful green eyes at the memory. "I'm really sorry for everything you're going through right now, Harry."_

" _It's OK, mom," Harry replied. "It's not your fault."_

" _But I could have prevented it after finding out about the prophesy!" she exclaimed._

 _Harry frowned at the exclamation. "What prophesy?" he asked._

 _This time it was Lilly's turn to frown. "You don't know about the prophesy?"_

" _No," he stated shaking his head a little in denial._

" _It's a prophesy that Trelawney created while in an interview with Dumbledore," his mother said. "It said something like this: '_ _T_ _HE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE_ _D_ _ARK_ _L_ _ORD APPROACHES_ _. . . . B_ _ORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM_ _,_ _BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES_ _. . ._ _AND THE_ _D_ _ARK_ _L_ _ORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL_ _,_ _BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE_ _D_ _ARK_ _L_ _ORD KNOWS NOT_ _. . ._ _AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES_ _. . . . T_ _HE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE_ _D_ _ARK_ _L_ _ORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES_ _. . . .'_ _I thought that nothing would occur, that your father and I would live that ordeal and stay with you forever, but I was wrong."_

 _Lilly was crying by this point recalling that time when Voldemort came into the house and killed them. "I'm so sorry, Harry."_

 _Harry wrapped his hands more tightly around Lilly's waist and buried his face once again in her chest feeling his own tears running down his face and staining her beautiful dress. "I missed you, mom," he said while he cried. "I love you so much."_

" _I love you too, sweetheart," Lilly said wrapping her arms around Harry's neck and head and kissing his forehead. "Oh, and …" she stopped midsentence._

" _What's wrong, mom?" her son asked._

" _I missed you too, my beautiful baby," she said. Harry blushed at that statement._

 **End of Dream**

Harry felt a noise outside of his bedroom and went to take his wand that was in his bedside table. A few moments later there were 8 to 9 figures standing in front of his chambers with the ex-auror Mad-eye Moody in the helm.

"Put that wand away, boy," Mad-eye said. "Were going to take you away now. Start packing your things."

Harry immediately started to pack his things and freed his owl Hedwig from her cage. He went downstairs to were the others are waiting. Then they all went outside and mounted their brooms. The journey was long to London but Harry didn't mind since he love to fly in his broom. Mad-eye was the first to stop his broom in a park and everyone just followed suit. After a few minutes of walking to the park exit, they were right in front of a complexion of buildings. Harry noted that there was a number off. There was Grimmauld Place #11 and #13 but #12 was no-where to be found. That is until he felt the ground shaking and #12 appear out of thin air in front of him. He followed the others inside the structure.

Once he was inside Mrs. Weasley came roaching from where she had been and embraced the boy in her arms. She was so happy to see that the-boy-who-lived was fine and well at the moment even though he was skinnier than normal.

"Oh, Harry it's lovely to see you!" said Mrs. Weasley happily. "Dinner shall be ready in a few, please go to the rooms upstairs with the others. We are still discussing some things."

Harry went upstairs like he was instructed by Mrs. Weasley and found his friends talking in one of the rooms. Once Hermione saw him she rapidly went rushing and hugged him tightly. In that moment she began to bombard him with questions without even letting him answer, not even one of said questions. His head felt like it was going to explode from all the questions. Later after that Hermione and Ron began to answer his questions about neither of them responding to his letters. They both answered that they weren't allowed to say too much in parchment because Dumbledore forbid it. Harry felt anger at the new piece of information.

A few minutes later Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came to the room to announce that dinner was ready and they could go eat now. Harry was gone in a second going downstairs. There Sirius was sat at the table talking with Lupin. Sirius stood up and went to hug his godson. Lupin did the same after Sirius had finish his greeting. They all took a sit. The food had appear in the table at that moment. The boy took some food and put it in his plate. He began to eat. After eating he took the glass of water and began to drink. Without Harry realizing it he began to feel more thirsty than ever before.

The ravenet hair boy excused himself and went to the kitchen and pulled out another glass of water, gulping every single drop of water in an instant. Unfortunate for him the thirst didn't go away but only increased. He had already drank 5 full glasses of water and the thirst stayed. He decided to go back to his shared room with Ron and sleep a little.

Unfortunately that night he didn't have nice dreams like before living Vernon's house. The nightmares were getting awful every second and the thirst didn't help at all. The thing was that the next day he had a hiring at the Ministry about his illegal use of magic in front of his own cousin.

The next day was worse than a nightmare and the thirst was starting to hurt more than before. That morning when he went to the bathroom to prepare himself for the Ministry he discovered that his human fangs were gone and instead were to sharp pointed fangs. He remembered what his mother had said about her and his father been pure-blood vampires. If what was happening was true then the thirst he was feeling was not going to get any better with water and only by drinking blood would he feel better. The problem was that he didn't wanted to hurt his friends or family just to get what he needed.

The hiring was another thing. Once he arrived at the Ministry with Mr. Weasley, they were informed by Shacklebolt that the hour had been moved up to start in five minutes. The Minister was a total jerk by all means. Dumbledore had arrived a few minutes before the meeting and had successfully help Harry stay clear of all charges only to spring out of the boy after the meeting was over without even saying a word to him. That only made the poor kid more riled up.

After that he came back to his godfather's home even more tired that he has ever been in his entire life. Time went by fast and it was already time to depart to Hogwarts without knowing that this year was going to be even more interesting and deadlier than any other.

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A/N:

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Please I need reviews so that I can improve my writing. Without reviews I wouldn't know if I'm doing anything wrong or not. PLEASE leave a comment! I don't care if it is to tell me that I suck as a writer, I just want to know what you think. XD


	2. In the train and back again

Chapter 2: In the train and back at Hogwarts again

Harry was walking with the Order and his friends back to King's Cross. In that moment Sirius passed in front of him in his dog form and went inside a room near the platforms. After Harry went inside Sirius turned once again into a human. Moody kept watch outside so that nobody went inside and find Sirius. The man sat at one of the benches and signal Harry to sit beside him. The boy did as his godfather instructed him to do silently.

"Padfoot, what do you think you're thinking doing this stunt?" Harry stated. "Someone might have seen you and reported you back to Azkaban!"

"I know and I'm sorry" said Sirius. "But what's life without a little danger?"

Harry glared a little at his godfather before replying: "You know what I meant." Harry sigh for a moment. "It's just I don't want to lose you too."

Sirius looked at his godson for a moment before taking a picture from his pocket. Harry took the picture in his hands. Sirius said that that picture was from the first Order of the Phoenix. He began to explain who was in the picture and what had happened to them. At the end Sirius told Harry to keep the photo as a reminder. The boy accepted it with a smile without showing his pointy fangs. Sirius change back into a dog and exited the room with his godson beside him.

They went through the platform 9 ¾ and waited for the train to leave. Harry went inside and waited for his friends to enter the train. The three teens found an empty compartment at the end. After a few minutes the train started moving. As they traveled Malfoy entered the compartment and began harassing him about him been a prefect. Harry on the other hand was so fed up with 'stupid' Malfoy that he kicked him out and slammed the door right in front of the other boy's stunned face.

"That was bloody brilliant, Harry," Ron said after he recovered from the shock grinning at his friend like an idiot.

Harry just stared out the window without saying a word. There was something in the train, a presence, which was making his hair on end. The odd thing was that said presence felt quite familiar somehow. Ron and Hermione were now walking out the door of their compartment to go to the prefects meeting. The raven hair boy took the opportunity to walk the corridor to see where that presence was coming from. As he walked he felt the mysterious presence in the last four compartments. Harry went back into his shared compartment to wait for his friends.

 **Kaname's POV**

I've been feeling this weird feeling for a while now. The feeling of another pure-blood vampire such as myself, Ayame and Yuuki on this train. The problem was that only a select few of Cross Academy night class students has come and only Yuuki, Ayame and I are pure-bloods. _This is going to be very interesting,_ I thought. I looked at the window and sighed. From my speculations of where the sun was it was almost 3:30 pm. The night class has been in the station since 4 in the morning. There was almost 2 and a half hours left to the arrival of the train in Hogsmead. I sighed again and began reading my book once again.

 **Author POV**

Ron and Hermione have return after an hour and Harry have been feeling restless. The thought of having a bad feeling was still there. The raven hair teen talked to his friends for the rest of the ride of the bad feeling he was having. The other two teens paid no mind of it for the moment. Slowly they felt the train come to a halt in the Hogsmead station. All of the students came out of the train. The first years and a group of strangers that Harry noted were the once in the very last compartments stayed to be carried by the boats to Hogwarts. The older students departed to take their ride back to the castle.

Harry at first thought that he was going crazy when he walked to the carriage and saw the horse that looked like a skeleton. The teen question his friends only for them to reply: "what are you talking about? There's nothing that's pulling the carriage. It's always been this way." Harry took the seat that was in front of a girl that had straggly, waist length, dirty-blond hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. In the carriage also sat Neville and Ginny.

Neville after seen the girl introduced her as Loony Lovegood. Ginny on the other hand said her name was Luna and scolded Neville for been rude to the girl. The girl called Luna watched them over her upside-down magazine, which was called _The Quibbler_. Finally the carriage began to move by the 'invisible' carriage carrier. After a few minutes the older students were walking through the entrance gate and inside the castle. Everyone went directly to the dining room where they sited into their house table. In a few minutes after they were all sited Professor McGonagall came with the first years behind her back. She then went and brought the chair and sorting hat putting the hat in the chair.

The hat took the form of a face and began to sing:

 _In times of old when I was new_

 _And Hogwarts barely started_

 _The founders of our noble school_

 _Thought never to be parted:_

 _United by a common goal,_

 _They had the selfsame yearning,_

 _To make the world's best magic school_

 _And pass along their learning._

 _"Together we will build and teach!"_

 _The four good friends decided_

 _And never did they dream that they_

 _Might someday be divided,_

 _For were there such friends anywhere_

 _As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

 _Unless it was the second pair_

 _Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

 _So how could it have gone so wrong?_

 _How could such friendships fail?_

 _Why, I was there and so can tell_

 _The whole sad, sorry tale._

 _Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_

 _Whose ancestry is purest."_

 _Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose_

 _Intelligence is surest."_

 _Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_

 _With brave deeds to their name,"_

 _Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,_

 _And treat them just the same."_

 _These differences caused little strife_

 _When first they came to light,_

 _For each of the four founders had_

 _A House in which they might_

 _Take only those they wanted, so,_

 _For instance, Slytherin_

 _Took only pure-blood wizards_

 _Of great cunning, just like him,_

 _And only those of sharpest mind_

 _Were taught by Ravenclaw_

 _While the bravest and the boldest_

 _Went to daring Gryffindor._

 _Good Hufflepuff she took the rest,_

 _And taught them all she knew,_

 _Thus the Houses and their founders_

 _Retained friendships firm and true._

 _So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

 _For several happy years,_

 _But then discord crept among us_

 _Feeding on our faults and fears._

 _The Houses that, like pillars four,_

 _Had once held up our school,_

 _Now turned upon each other and,_

 _Divided, sought to rule._

 _And for a while it seemed the school_

 _Must meet an early end,_

 _What with dueling and with fighting_

 _And the clash of friend on friend_

 _And at last there came a morning_

 _When old Slytherin departed_

 _And though the fighting then died out_

 _He left us quite downhearted._

 _And never since the founders four_

 _Were whittled down to three_

 _Have the Houses been united_

 _As they once were meant to be._

 _And now the Sorting Hat is here_

 _And you all know the score:_

 _I sort you into Houses_

 _Because that is what I'm for,_

 _But this year I'll go further,_

 _Listen closely to my song:_

 _Though condemned I am to split you_

 _Still I worry that it's wrong,_

 _Though I must fulfill my duty_

 _And must quarter every year_

 _Still I wonder whether sorting_

 _May not bring the end I fear._

 _Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

 _The warning history shows,_

 _For our Hogwarts is in danger_

 _From external, deadly foes_

 _And we must unite inside her_

 _Or we'll crumble from within._

 _I have told you, I have warned you. . . ._

 _Let the Sorting now begin._

After the last first year was sorted into the house of Hufflepuff McGonagall was going back outside. In that moment Professor Dumbledore started to talk to the students about how this year was going to be a lot more different. Dumbledore explained that there were exchange students of Cross Academy coming and that this students were from the night class division of the school that consisted of vampires. Harry was thrilled and frightened at the same time about this piece of information. Thrilled because he could learn from them and frightened because he didn't know how everyone else would react of the-boy-who-lived been all buddy-buddy with the vampires. Hermione was exited to say the least about having vampires in the school been the book worm that she is. Ron on the other hand was sweating like crazy at the thought of those vampires been in the school and drinking their blood.

At the Headmaster's approval McGonagall came back with 11 very beautiful, pale students. From among the mass of people there were five girls and the rest were boys. Their formation was a male and two females in the front and the rest behind. The first three looked very much the same reddish brown eyes and brown hair. The girls obviously had their hair long to their waist while the boy was right at his shoulders in a boyish style. Their aura however screamed of deadly power. The others that consisted mostly of boys had auras similar to the first three but didn't have a lot of power.

As they stepped in front of Professor McGonagall and waited for her to start, the boy with brown hair and reddish brown eyes came closer to Professor Dumbledore and stretched his hands in salutation. The headmaster shuck their hands together and smiled at the vampire. Meanwhile Professor McGonagall had started the sorting.

"Aidou, Hanabusa," she called. A second later a tall boy with blond hair and blue eyes strode to the chair and sited in it. The woman Professor placed the sorting hat in his head and a second later the hat shouted: "Ravenclaw!" The boy smiled his dazzling smile and went to the Ravenclaw table.

"Cross, Yuuki," Professor McGonagall called again. A mili-second later a petite girl with long brown hair and reddish brown eyes surfaced and sited gracefully in the chair. The professor once again put the sorting hat in the girls head and it shouted: "Slytherin!" The girl made her way over to the Slytherin table just to be shoo at with fear written in their faces. Even Malfoy was about to poop himself from fear.

The sorting went on with Ichijou, Takuma another tall blond with green eyes who was placed in Ravenclaw as well. Then Kain, Akatsuki a tall boy with strawberry blond hair and amber eyes was places in Ravenclaw as well. This time was another tall boy with silver hair with piercings in his left ear and lavender eyes by the name of Kiryuu, Zero was sorted into Gryffindor. Something told Harry that the said boy was different from the rest because of his aura. Later on the other girl with long brown hair and reddish brown eyes was called by the name of Kuran, Ayame and was placed in Gryffindor as well. The girl was tall unlike the other girl and had just like him trouble with her sorting.

"Kuran, Kaname," Professor McGonagall shouted. The boy standing beside Professor Dumbledore excused himself and went to sit in the chair very gracefully. The sorting hat did not even touched his head before it shouted "Slytherin!" Just as gracefully as he had walked into the chair he went and sited himself beside his beloved.

Then there was a girl named Seiren with short grayish-white hair who was sorted into Gryffindor, later a brownish hair tall boy called Shiki, Senri with icy blue eyes was sorted into Hufflepuff followed by a tall girl with pale brown hair and similar eye color with the name of Souen, Ruka and another tall girl with model figure, orange blond hair that were tied in pigtails and icy cerulean eyes who were also sorted into Hufflepuff.

After every one of the new exchange students was sited into their house table Dumbledore sited with the staff and made the food appear. The new and exchange students were fascinated by it. All of the older students just tuck in. Harry was trying to refrain himself from giving in to his thirst. Somehow he could not stop thinking of the silver hair boy and the girl with reddish brown eyes that was sitting next to him. They just took a pill and threw it into a glass of water and an instant later the water turned into something that looked like blood. Harry's mouth watered seen the red liquid but he decided to just tuck in like the rest of the populace.

A few minutes later Dumbledore walked to the podium again and bead welcome to the first years and exchange program students. Then he mention about the forbidden forest and the list of prohibited things in Filch's office. Continuing with the new staff members Dumbledore bid them welcome as well and said that Mrs. Grubbly-Plank was going to take her post as Care of Magical Creatures again for the time been until Hagrid came back. At last he introduced the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. To Harry's dismay the headmaster addressed the toad like woman named Dolores Umbridge as their new teacher.

As Dumbledore was about to continue the toad like woman interrupted the headmaster with her fake like girly giggle which caused everyone to look at her instead. Then she said in her fake girly voice: "Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome." She gave another little throat clearing cough and continued: "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

Harry glanced around. None of the faces he could see looked happy; on the contrary, they all looked rather taken aback at being addressed as though they were five years old.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!" Students exchanged looks at this; some of them were barely concealing grins.

"I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan," Parvati whispered to Lavender, and both of them lapsed into silent giggles.

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat again, but when she continued, some of the breathiness had vanished from her voice. She sounded much more businesslike and now her words had a dull learned-by-heart sound to them.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation . . ."

Harry found his attentiveness ebbing, as though his brain was slipping in and out of tune. The quiet that always filled the Hall when Dumbledore was speaking was breaking up as students put their heads together, whispering and giggling. Over at the Ravenclaw table, Cho Chang was chatting animatedly with her friends. A few seats along from Cho, Luna Lovegood had got out The Quibbler again. Meanwhile at the Hufflepuff table, Ernie Macmillan was one of the few still staring at Professor Umbridge, but he was glassy-eyed and Harry was sure he was only pretending to listen in an attempt to live up to the new prefect's badge gleaming on his chest.

". . . because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

"And to those vampires siting there, I am well aware of the methods you used to threaten the Minister to get to this school and I'm telling you this now… You will not touch our students while I'm hear… you fealty blood-suckers!" Umbridge spat. Harry looked at every vampire in the surroundings and saw their eyes glowing red. Zero on the other hand just scoffed. After scoffing he began to hysterically laugh and the Professor. He was amused by what that toad woman just said.

"Why are you laughing you stupid abomination!?" she spat again.

"I'm just amused by what you said that's all" Zero said. "You see, only hunters like myself have the power to kill vampires such as this. Though you're totally missing the point that this 'blood-suckers' as you call them are friends of mine. Still I understand you quite perfectly, I only have one piece of advice don't ever insult a vampire unless you have a death wish, your little insult will just make things worse for you."

The toad woman stared at the young boy fuming over what he said. "How dare you talk to me that way!?" she screamed. By now all of the vampires were staring at the silver hair boy with amusement in their eyes.

"I'm just telling you that if you value your life, don't make enemies out of them," said the boy. "And don't ever underestimate your opponent because of their looks."

In the moment the toad woman was about to start another retort, Professor Dumbledore took the few seconds and bead fear well to the students and made the prefects take their houses back to their respective tower. Harry just followed his friends back to the common room in the Gryffindor tower and hopefully prayed to talk to the new addition to the house.

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A/N:

I've just noticed that I did not explain how Harry have been coupling with his thirst. Well let just say that he turns his water into blood while everyone is not looking ;) (I got that idea from Seamus first year where he tries to turn his water into rum)

To everyone that have favorite and follow the story and or me THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I hope that I've met your expectations in this chapter. Have a beautiful and not so hot summer wherever you are ^.^ Love you all and God bless thee. Please Review so that I can improve and give you the best.


	3. After the Sorting & First Day

A/N: I hope you all like this chapter. It took me a while to be able to make it.

"Normal text" normal talking and narration

" **Normal text** " talking Japanese

" _Normal text"_ flashback talking and narration

" _ **Normal text** " _flashback writing on board

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter nor Vampire Knight. All rights are for their original authors. I just like the books and mangas.

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Chapter 3: After the Sorting and the Unfortunate First Day

Ron and Hermione were walking to the Gryffindor Tower with the first years and the two Exchange Students from Cross Academy. Soon everyone was in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" the fat lady asked the prefects.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia" Hermione said before moving to the side so that the fat lady could open the passage way to the Gryffindor common room. All of the new kids and the two vampires came inside only to see Harry and Seamus shouting at each other.

"What's going on?" asked Ron.

"Do you really believe that You-Know-Who is back like THEY say?" asked Seamus exasperated.

"Yeah, I do!" Ron declared.

"Then you're mad too," said Seamus in disgust.

"Yeah? Well unfortunately for you, pal, I'm also a prefect!" said Ron, jabbing himself in the chest with a finger. "So unless you want detention, watch your mouth! So anyone else want to declare a war against Harry?"

Everyone else just shrugged and declared they were with Dumbledore's and Harry's side. The raven hair teen was feeling more tier than usual and the thirst was starting to surface again. Unfortunately for him the silver hair boy and the brunet girl felt his thirst and frustration. The brunet went to Harry and asked to talk to him mostly in private, in the most polite and beautiful voice. The silver hair boy just shrug his shoulder and went to the bedroom to sleep.

"Hello," the brunet stated. "My name is Ayame Kuran."

"Hi," the ravenet said. "I'm Harry. It's nice to meet you."

"Are you feeling well, Harry?" asked Ayame after eying the ravenet. "You don't look good. Is there something wrong?"

"…" Harry blushed a little around his cheek. Suddenly he felt the complete force of his thirst kick in. He clutch at his throat in pain. Ayame came rushing to his side. She had concern all over her face. He's eyes which were a beautiful shade of emerald green had turned blood red.

"You're not human aren't you, Harry?" Ayame asked concerned. "There's only 2 beings in the world which can change their eye color into blood red and they are vampires and demons. Demons would not clutch their throats in pain, which only gives us the vampire theory. Right?"

"…" Harry didn't respond for a little while. Then said "My parents were purebloods with magical blood. My mother lost her parents when she was little and so did my father. None of them new their real parents and both were turn into humans after losing them. Their real parents sealed their vampire self and once human their magical genes became dominant. Or that's what my mother told me a while ago in a dream."

"I see…," Ayame said a little thoughtful. "Well first of all we need to get you fed… When did you start feeling this changes and when did you awaken actually?"

"Well…," Harry started feeling the pain once again.

"…Just get a glass of water for the time been," she said. "You need to feed first before your thirst become a problem."

Harry nodded and took his wand out. He then conjured a glass of water. Later he recited the spell turning the water into blood and drank it. His eyes instantly became emerald green again.

"Thanks…," the ravenet said.

"No problem with me," she started. "Though…I can't talk for Zero, who's the vampire hunter."

Harry nodded again. "I'm sorry for this ordeal," Harry started. "The answer to both of your questions is right after the dream with my mother. It took me some time to figure it out but…" Harry didn't finish his sentence at that point.

"It's Okay," she said. "I know how it feels but I need to report this to Kaname-sama. We can't have you missing your meals and that includes blood…and yes we eat human food as well. We don't actually need to but it make us look more human that way."

"Thanks," Harry replied again.

"We better go back before someone starts saying I killed you or come looking for you," Ayame said.

Harry nodded and went back inside the common room. For his dismay Zero was waiting for them along with Ron, Hermione and the twins. The wizards started bombarding him with questions right away. Zero on the other hand could feel the stress, tiredness and the aura the boy was producing at full force.

"Can you please let him breathe at least?" Zero asked. Harry looked at his lavender eyes and saw the understanding. "Can't you see his tiered already? At least let him rest for the night and tomorrow you can ask him whatever you like."

Ron scuffed at Zero's statement. "You're not his best friend so buck off."

"Ron!" Hermione shouted at the red hair boy. "Zero's right! Harry go and rest for today."

"Thanks, guys," Harry said with a tiered smile.

"Good Night, Harry," said the twins.

 **Zero's POV**

All of the normal students were already in their rooms sleeping. I sighed tiredly. Today has been so damn tiring. I started going to my room when Ayame stopped me. I've never seen her this worried face on her before. I frowned for a second.

" **What happened?** " I asked concerned.

" **Zero,** " she started. " **That boy, I don't know how, is a pureblood vampire.** "

" **What?!** " I almost shouted. " **How is that even possible?!** "

" **shhh!** " Ayame hushed me in a scolding manner. " **Don't shout.** "

" **Sorry,** " I apologized. " **But how can you be so sure?** "

" **It's okay,** " Ayame said. " **I don't know how, but, one minute he was all fine with normal emerald eyes and then suddenly his eyes turned blood red and started clutching his throat in pain. All of us need to talk and that includes mom and dad.** "

Zero tensed at that statement but nodded never the less. After that little intercourse both vampires went to their respective rooms and tried to sleep.

 **Author's POV**

Today was the first day of class. Everyone was already in the great hall eating. Harry had just awoken and was dragging his feet tiredly to the great hall to eat breakfast. The raven hair teen noticed that none of the vampires were inside eating. As he took his seat with his friends and took some food into his plate Professor McGonagall came to them and gave them their schedule for the year. He looked at it and his face paled considerately.

"What the HELL is this!?" Ron shouted miserably. "Look at today!" groaned Ron. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts . . . Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snack boxes sorted. . . ."

"Do mine ears deceive me?" said Fred, arriving with George and squeezing onto the bench beside Harry. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?"

"Look what we've got today," said Ron grumpily, shoving his schedule under Fred's nose. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen."

"Fair point, little bro," said Fred, scanning the column. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."

"Guys," Harry started. "I don't think it's a good idea to make students bleed right now with the vampires around."

"Rubbish," said the twins. "I don't think the vampires will just attack randomly," said Fred. "And they need to have a lot of self-control to do what they came here to do, right?" finish George.

"I think so…" Harry trailed up.

After that everyone finished their breakfast and hurried to their class. Harry however stayed behind and waited for everyone to finish and go to class. He kept his glass of water in his hands and murmured the incantation to turn the water into blood. The teen gulped its contents in one go and hurried to Binns class. The class was as boring as ever and Harry took the opportunity to sleep a little more. After that it was double potions with Snape which was more of the same with said Professor trying to make a fool of all of the Gryffindor's and praising all of the Slytherin's.

The final class of the day was double Defense Against the Dark Arts with the toad woman. To his dismay the professor was bent to make him have detention. She accused him of been a liar and made him go to Professor McGonagall with a parchment explaining to her that she had given Harry detention for the week starting the next day. Unfortunately Ayame and Zero were made to take detention along with Harry as well. Professor McGonagall wasn't very happy about this. Kaname on the other hand was fuming for what Umbridge had done with his little girl. Well to be more exact he was beyond enraged and so was Yuuki but they controlled themselves. They both wanted revenge but for the sake of the peace treaty to be legal they couldn't attack a human ever again and that was final.

 **Flashback**

 _Harry, his friends and the vampires from Gryffindor and Slytherin walked along the passages to Professor Umbridge classroom. They all sat in the middle part of the class. Harry sat with Ron and Zero, Hermione with Ayame and Yuuki with Kaname. Ayame out of boredom made an origami and Hermione used transfiguration to make it fly. Everyone was having fun with the bird-like origami before Umbridge saw the bird and flicked her wand, burning the bird in the process. Ayame narrowed her brownish-red eyes at the toad-like woman._

" _Hey, that's not fair!" Ayame shouted._

" _In my class half-breeds like yourself do what I tell you to do," Umbridge inquired. "Now, good afternoon, children!" she said to the others and walking among the other children. "Tut, tut," said Professor Umbridge. "_ _That_ _won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"_

" _Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted back at her._

" _There, now," said Professor Umbridge sweetly. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."_

 _Many of the class exchanged gloomy looks; the order "wands away" had never yet been followed by a lesson they had found interesting. Harry shoved his wand back inside his bag and pulled out quill, ink, and parchment. Professor Umbridge opened her handbag, extracted her own wand, which was an unusually short one, and tapped the blackboard sharply with it; words appeared on the board at once:_

 _ **Defense Against the Dark Arts**_

 _ **A Return to Basic Principles.**_

" _Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" stated Professor Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year. You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."_

 _She rapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by:_

 _ **Course aims:**_

 _ **1\. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.**_

 _ **2\. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.**_

 _ **3\. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.**_

 _For a couple of minutes the room was full of the sound of scratching quills on parchment. When everyone had copied down Professor Umbridge's three course aims she said, "Has everybody got a copy of_ _Defensive Magical Theory_ _by Wilbert Slinkhard?" There was a dull murmur of assent throughout the class._

" _I think we'll try that again," said Professor Umbridge. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply 'Yes, Professor Umbridge,' or 'No, Professor Umbridge.' So, has everyone got a copy of_ _Defensive Magical Theory_ _by Wilbert Slinkhard?"_

" _Yes, Professor Umbridge," rang through the room._

" _Good," said Professor Umbridge. "I should like you to turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk."_

 _Professor Umbridge left the blackboard and settled herself in the chair behind the teacher's desk, observing them all with those pouchy toad's eyes. Harry turned to page five of his copy of_ _Defensive Magical Theory_ _and started to read._

 _It was desperately dull, quite as bad as listening to Professor Binns. He felt his concentration sliding away from him; he had soon read the same line half a dozen times without taking in more than the first few words. Several silent minutes passed. Next to him, Ron was absentmindedly turning his quill over and over in his fingers, staring at the same spot on the page. Harry looked right and received a surprise to shake him out of his torpor. Hermione had not even opened her copy of_ _Defensive Magical Theory._ _She was staring fixedly at Professor Umbridge with her hand in the air._

 _Harry could not remember Hermione ever neglecting to read when instructed to, or indeed resisting the temptation to open any book that came under her nose. He looked at her questioningly, but she merely shook her head slightly to indicate that she was not about to answer questions, and continued to stare at Professor Umbridge, who was looking just as resolutely in another direction._

 _After several more minutes had passed, however, Harry was not the only one watching Hermione. The chapter they had been instructed to read was so tedious that more and more people were choosing to watch Hermione's mute attempt to catch Professor Umbridge's eye than to struggle on with "Basics for Beginners." When more than half the class were staring at Hermione rather than at their books, Professor Umbridge seemed to decide that she could ignore the situation no longer._

" _Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" she asked Hermione, as though she had only just noticed her._

" _Not about the chapter, no," said Hermione._

" _Well, we're reading just now," said Professor Umbridge, showing her small, pointed teeth. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."_

" _I've got a query about your course aims," said Hermione._

 _Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows._

" _And your name is — ?"_

" _Hermione Granger," said Hermione._

" _Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully," said Professor Umbridge in a voice of determined sweetness._

" _Well, I don't," said Hermione bluntly. "There's nothing written up there about_ _using_ _defensive spells."_

 _There was a short silence in which many members of the class turned their heads to frown at the three course aims still written on the blackboard._

" _Using_ _defensive spells?" Professor Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to_ _use_ _a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"_

" _We're not going to use magic?" Ron ejaculated loudly._

" _Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr. — ?"_

" _Weasley," said Ron, thrusting his hand into the air._

 _Professor Umbridge, smiling still more widely, turned her back on him. Harry and Hermione immediately raised their hands too. Professor Umbridge's pouchy eyes lingered on Harry for a moment before she addressed Hermione._

" _Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?"_

" _Yes," said Hermione. "Surely the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?"_

" _Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?" asked Professor Umbridge in her falsely sweet voice._

" _No, but —"_

" _Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way —"_

" _What use is that?" said Harry loudly. "If we're going to be attacked it won't be in a —"_

" _Hand,_ _Mr. Potter!" sang Professor Umbridge._

" _But he is right, professor-san," Zero Kiryuu said._

" _What does a filthy thing like you know about this," Professor Umbridge said fumingly._

" _More that you think I do," Zero replied. "…professor."_

" _I'm afraid that everyone needs to raise their hands before speaking, Mr. -" Umbridge said._

" _Kiryuu, Zero" replied Zero._

 _Umbridge snorted. Harry thrust his fist in the air. Professor Umbridge promptly turned away from him again, but now several other people had their hands up too._

" _And your name is?" Professor Umbridge said to Dean._

" _Dean Thomas."_

" _Well, Mr. Thomas?"_

" _Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it?" said Dean. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk-free —"_

" _I repeat," said Professor Umbridge, smiling in a very irritating fashion at Dean, "do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"_

" _No, but —"_

 _Professor Umbridge talked over him._

" _I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school," she said, an unconvincing smile stretching her wide mouth, "but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed — not to mention," she gave a nasty little laugh, "extremely dangerous half-breeds."_

" _If you mean Professor Lupin," piped up Dean Thomas angrily, "he was the best we ever —"_

" _Hand,_ _Mr. Thomas! As I was saying — you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day —"_

" _No we haven't," Hermione said, "we just —"_

" _Your hand is not up, Miss Granger_ _!"_

 _Hermione put up her hand; Professor Umbridge turned away from her._

" _It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them_ _on_ _you —"_

" _Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" said Dean Thomas hotly. "Mind you, we still learned loads —"_

" _Your hand is not up, Mr. Thomas_ _!" trilled Professor Umbridge._

" _Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" she added, staring at Parvati, whose hand had just shot up._

" _Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter curses and things?"_

" _As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions," said Professor Umbridge dismissively._

" _Without ever practicing them before?" said Parvati incredulously._

" _Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"_

" _I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough —"_

" _And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" said Harry loudly, his fist in the air again._

 _Professor Umbridge looked up._

" _This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world," she said softly._

" _Sorry, Professor, but…" Ayame interrupted. "As Harry said the world is not nice not only to you people but for ours as well and it's better be prepared than lamenting not doing anything when you could."_

" _So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting out there?" Harry continued._

" _There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter."_

" _Oh yeah?" said Harry. His temper, which seemed to have been bubbling just beneath the surface all day, was reaching boiling point. His aura was becoming more dangerous every second._

" _Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" inquired Professor Umbridge in a horribly honeyed voice._

" _Hmm, let's think . . ." said Harry in a mock thoughtful voice, "maybe_ _Lord Voldemort_ _?"_

 _Ron gasped; Lavender Brown uttered a little scream; Neville slipped sideways off his stool. Professor Umbridge, however, did not flinch. She was staring at Harry with a grimly satisfied expression on her face._

" _Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."_

 _The classroom was silent and still. Everyone was staring at either Umbridge or Harry. The vampires however stared at both with their eyes glowing not only in disgust of such a nasty professor but also at the mention of the Dark wizard earlier._

" _Now, let me make a few things quite plain and clear."_

 _Professor Umbridge stood up and leaned toward them, her stubby fingered hands splayed on her desk._

" _You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead —"_

" _He wasn't dead," said Harry angrily, "but yeah, he's returned!"_

" _Mr.-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-House-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself," said Professor Umbridge in one breath without looking at him. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again._ _This is a lie._ _"_

" _It is NOT a lie!" said Harry. "I saw him, I fought him!"_

" _Harry-kun," Kaname said. "Calm down."_

" _Detention, Mr. Potter!" said Professor Umbridge triumphantly._

" _Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat,_ _this is a lie._ _The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners.' "_

 _Professor Umbridge sat down behind her desk again. Harry, however, stood up. Everyone was staring at him; Seamus looked half-scared, half-fascinated. The vampires however weren't feeling very happy about the toad woman giving another pure-blood detention._

" _Harry, no!" Hermione whispered in a warning voice, tugging at his sleeve, but Harry jerked his arm out of her reach._

" _So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" Harry asked, his voice shaking._

 _There was a collective intake of breath from the class, for none of them, apart from Ron and Hermione, had ever heard Harry talk about what had happened on the night that Cedric had died. They stared avidly from Harry to Professor Umbridge, who had raised her eyes and was staring at him without a trace of a fake smile on her face._

" _Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," she said coldly._

" _It was murder," said Harry. He could feel himself shaking. He had hardly talked to anyone about this, least of all thirty eagerly listening classmates. "Voldemort killed him, and you know it."_

" _Sensei," said Ayame. "I can see when people are lying to me just by the tone of their voice. I can only hear truth from Harrys lips."_

" _I agree with Ayame," seconded Zero. "I can see it in his eyes that he's telling the truth."_

" _So you two are with his lies as well…" said the toad woman._

 _Professor Umbridge's face was quite blank. For a moment he thought she was going to scream at him. Then she said, in her softest, most sweetly girlish voice, "Come here, Mr. Potter, dear."_

 _He kicked his chair aside, strode around Ron and Hermione and up to the teacher's desk. He could feel the rest of the class holding its breath. He felt so angry he did not care what happened next. Professor Umbridge pulled a small roll of pink parchment out of her handbag, stretched it out on the desk, dipped her quill into a bottle of ink, and started scribbling, hunched over so that Harry could not see what she was writing. Nobody spoke. After a minute or so she rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand; it sealed itself seamlessly so that he could not open it._

" _Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear," said Professor Umbridge, holding out the note to him. "And take Mr. Kiryuu and Miss Kuran (?) with you."_

 _He took it from her without saying a word and left the room, not even looking back at Ron and Hermione, and slamming the classroom door shut behind him. Zero and Ayame were already outside when he shut the door. He walked very fast along the corridor, the note to McGonagall clutched tight in his hand, and turning a corner walked slap into Peeves the Poltergeist, a wide-faced little man floating on his back in midair, juggling several inkwells._

" _Why, it's Potty Wee Potter!" cackled Peeves, allowing two of the inkwells to fall to the ground where they smashed and spattered the walls with ink; Harry jumped backward out of the way with a snarl._

" _Get out of it, Peeves." Harry said angrily._

" _Oooh, Crackpot's feeling cranky," said Peeves, pursuing Harry along the corridor, leering as he zoomed along above him. "What is it this time, my fine Potty friend? Hearing voices? Seeing visions? Speaking in" — Peeves blew a gigantic raspberry — "_ _tongues_ _?"_

" _I said, leave me ALONE!" Harry shouted, running down the nearest flight of stairs, but Peeves merely slid down the banister on his back beside him._

" _Oh, most think he's barking, the Potty wee lad, But some are more kindly and think he's just sad, But Peevesy knows better and says that he's mad_ _—"_

" _SHUT UP!" Harry shouted again._

" _Harry-kun," Ayame said. "Cal…"_

" _Calm down, kid," Zero finished._

 _A door to his left flew open and Professor McGonagall emerged from her office looking grim and slightly harassed._

" _What on_ _earth_ _are you shouting about, Potter?" she snapped, as Peeves cackled gleefully and zoomed out of sight. "Why aren't you in class?"_

" _I've been sent to see you," said Harry stiffly._

" _Sent? What do you mean, sent?"_

 _He held out the note from Professor Umbridge. Professor McGonagall took it from him, frowning, slit it open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out, and began to read. Her eyes zoomed from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and with each line they became narrower._

" _Come in here, Potter, Kiryuu, Kuran."_

 _They followed her inside her study. The door closed automatically behind them._

" _Well?" said Professor McGonagall, rounding on him. "Is this true?"_

" _Is what true?" Harry asked, rather more aggressively than he had intended. "Professor?" he added in an attempt to sound more polite._

" _Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?"_

" _Yes," said Harry._

" _You called her a liar?"_

" _Yes."_

" _You told her He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back?"_

" _Yes."_

 _Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, frowning at Harry. Then she said, "Have a biscuit, Potter."_

" _Have — what?"_

" _Have a biscuit," she repeated impatiently, indicating a tartan tin of cookies lying on top of one of the piles of papers on her desk. "And sit down all of you."_

 _There had been a previous occasion when Harry, expecting to be caned by Professor McGonagall, had instead been appointed by her to the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He sank into a chair opposite her and helped himself to a Ginger Newt, feeling just as confused and wrong-footed as he had done on that occasion. Professor McGonagall set down Professor Umbridge's note and looked very seriously at Harry._

" _Potter, you need to be careful."_

 _Harry swallowed his mouthful of Ginger Newt and stared at her. Her tone of voice was not at all what he was used to; it was not brisk, crisp, and stern; it was low and anxious and somehow much more human than usual._

" _Misbehavior in Dolores Umbridge's class could cost you much more than House points and a detention."_

" _What do you — ?"_

" _Potter, use your common sense," snapped Professor McGonagall, with an abrupt return to her usual manner. "You know where she comes from, you must know to whom she is reporting."_

 _The bell rang for the end of the lesson. Overhead and all around came the elephantine sounds of hundreds of students on the move._

" _It says here she's given you detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said, looking down at Umbridge's note again. "As for Kiryuu and Kuran, did you sided with Harry in this?"_

" _Yes," they said in unison._

" _You two must be careful as well. She hates every living creature that is not a witch or a wizard. She wants you two in detention just like Mr. Potter every evening this week, starting tomorrow as well."_

" _Every evening this week!" Harry repeated, horrified. "But, Professor, couldn't you — ?"_

" _No, I couldn't," said Professor McGonagall flatly._

" _But —"_

" _She is your teacher and has every right to give you detention. You all will go to her room at five o'clock tomorrow for the first one. Just remember: Tread carefully around Dolores Umbridge."_

" _But I was telling the truth!" said Harry, outraged. "Voldemort's back, you know he is, Professor Dumbledore knows he is —"_

" _For heaven's sake, Potter!" said Professor McGonagall, straightening her glasses angrily (she had winced horribly when he had used Voldemort's name). "Do you really think this is about truth or lies? It's about keeping your head down and your temper under control!"_

 _She stood up, nostrils wide and mouth very thin, and they stood too._

" _Have another biscuit," she said irritably, thrusting the tin at him._

" _No, thanks," said Harry coldly._

" _Don't be ridiculous," she snapped._

 _He took one._

" _Thanks," he said grudgingly._

" _Didn't you listen to Dolores Umbridge's speech at the start-of term feast, Potter?"_

" _Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah . . . she said . . . progress will be prohibited or . . . well, it meant that . . . that the Ministry of Magic is trying to interfere at Hogwarts."_

 _Professor McGonagall eyed him for a moment, then sniffed, walked around her desk, and held open the door for him._

" _Well, I'm glad you listen to Hermione Granger at any rate," she said, pointing him out of her office. "Be careful you three."_

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A/N: Thank you for all those that reviewed in this story, followed and/or favorited me and/or the story.

Please Review and tell me what you think of this story. I'll feel honor to hear your thoughts. Even if it is just saying that it was not what you expected. Thank you very much ^.^


	4. Second Day & First Detention

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight nor Harry Potter!**

A/N: Thank you all that have reviewed thus far. I hope you like this chapter.

To thunder18: thank you for been the first person to give me a review and I hope to know more of what you think of this story. ;)

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To Jamesk19: Yes, this is an Ayame/Harry pairing. ;) Thank you so much for the review. ^.^

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Second Day and First Detention with Professor Umbridge**

Dinner in the Great Hall that night was not a pleasant experience for Harry. The news about his shouting match with Umbridge seemed to have traveled exceptionally fast even by Hogwarts standards. He heard whispers all around him as he sat eating between Ron and Hermione. The funny thing was that none of the whisperers seemed to mind him overhearing what they were saying about him — on the contrary, it was as though they were hoping he would get angry and start shouting again, so that they could hear his story firsthand.

"He says he saw Cedric Diggory murdered. . . ." said one of the students.

"He reckons he dueled with You-Know-Who. . . ." said another one.

"Come off it. . . ." said a third.

"Who does he think he's kidding?" a fourth said.

"Pur- _lease_. . ." a fifth interfered.

"What I don't get," said Harry in a shaking voice, laying down his knife and fork (his hands were trembling too much to hold them steady), "is why they all believed the story two months ago when Dumbledore told them. . . ."

"The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did," said Hermione grimly. "Oh, let's get out of here."

She slammed down her own knife and fork; Ron looked sadly at his half-finished apple pie but followed suit. People stared at them all the way out of the Hall.

"What d'you mean, you're not sure they believed Dumbledore?" Harry asked Hermione when they reached the first-floor landing.

"Look, you don't understand what it was like after it happened," said Hermione quietly. "You arrived back in the middle of the lawn clutching Cedric's dead body. . . . None of us saw what happened in the maze. . . . We just had Dumbledore's word for it that You-Know-Who had come back and killed Cedric and fought you."

"Which is the truth!" said Harry loudly.

"I know it is, Harry, so will you _please_ stop biting my head off?" said Hermione wearily. "It's just that before the truth could sink in, everyone went home for the summer, where they spent two months reading about how you're a nutcase and Dumbledore's going senile!"

Rain pounded on the windowpanes as they strode along the empty corridors back to Gryffindor Tower. Harry felt as though his first day had lasted a week, but he still had a mountain of homework to do before bed. A dull pounding pain was developing over his right eye. He glanced out of a rain-washed window at the dark grounds as they turned into the Fat Lady's corridor. There was still no light in Hagrid's cabin.

" _Mimbulus mimbletonia,_ " said Hermione, before the Fat Lady could ask. The portrait swung open to reveal the hole behind and the three of them scrambled back through it.

The common room was almost empty; nearly everyone was still down at dinner. Crookshanks uncoiled himself from an armchair and trotted to meet them, purring loudly, and when Harry, Ron, and Hermione took their three favorite chairs at the fireside he leapt lightly into Hermione's lap and curled up there like a furry ginger cushion. Harry gazed into the flames, feeling drained and exhausted.

" _How_ can Dumbledore have let this happen?" Hermione cried suddenly, making Harry and Ron jump; Crookshanks leapt off her, looking affronted. She pounded the arms of her chair in fury, so that bits of stuffing leaked out of the holes. "How can he let that terrible woman teach us? And in our O.W.L. year too!"

"Well, we've never had great Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, have we?" said Harry. "You know what it's like, Hagrid told us, nobody wants the job, they say it's jinxed."

"Yes, but to employ someone who's actually refusing to let us do magic! _What's_ Dumbledore playing at?"

"And she's trying to get people to spy for her," said Ron darkly. "Remember when she said she wanted us to come and tell her if we hear anyone saying You-Know-Who's back?"

"Of course she's here to spy on us all, that's obvious, why else would Fudge have wanted her to come?" snapped Hermione.

"Don't start arguing again," said Harry wearily, as Ron opened his mouth to retaliate. "Can't we just . . . Let's just do that homework, get it out of the way. . . . Please?"

They collected their schoolbags from a corner and returned to the chairs by the fire. People were coming back from dinner now. Harry kept his face averted from the portrait hole, but could still sense the stares he was attracting.

"Shall we do Snape's stuff first?" said Ron, dipping his quill into his ink. " ' _The properties_. . . _of moonstone_. . . _and its uses_. . . _in potion making_. . .' " he muttered, writing the words across the top of his parchment as he spoke them. "There." He underlined the title, then looked up expectantly at Hermione.

"So what are the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion making?" But Hermione was not listening; she was squinting over into the far corner of the room, where Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were now sitting at the center of a knot of innocent-looking first years, all of whom were chewing something that seemed to have come out of a large paper bag that Fred was holding.

"No, I'm sorry, they've gone too far," she said, standing up and looking positively furious. "Come on, Ron."

"I — what?" said Ron, plainly playing for time. "No — come on, Hermione — we can't tell them off for giving out sweets. . . ."

"You know perfectly well that those are bits of Nosebleed Nougat or — or Puking Pastilles or —"

"Fainting Fancies?" Harry suggested quietly.

One by one, as though hit over the heads with invisible mallets, the first years were slumping unconscious in their seats; some slid right onto the floor, others merely hung over the arms of their chairs, their tongues lolling out. Most of the people watching were laughing; Hermione, however, squared her shoulders and marched directly over to where Fred and George now stood with clipboards, closely observing the unconscious first years. Ron rose halfway out of his chair, hovered uncertainly for a moment or two, then muttered to Harry, "She's got it under control," before sinking as low in his chair as his lanky frame permitted.

"That's enough!" Hermione said forcefully to Fred and George, both of whom looked up in mild surprise.

"Yeah, you're right," said George, nodding, "this dosage looks strong enough, doesn't it?"

"I told you this morning, you can't test your rubbish on students!" she screamed exasperatedly.

"We're paying them!" said Fred indignantly.

"I don't care, it could be dangerous!" she screamed again.

"Rubbish," said Fred.

"Calm down, Hermione, they're fine!" said Lee reassuringly as he walked from first year to first year, inserting purple sweets into their open mouths.

"Yeah, look, they're coming round now," said George.

A few of the first years were indeed stirring. Several looked so shocked to find themselves lying on the floor, or dangling off their chairs, that Harry was sure Fred and George had not warned them what the sweets were going to do.

"Feel all right?" said George kindly to a small dark-haired girl lying at his feet.

"I-I think so," she said shakily.

"Excellent," said Fred happily, but the next second Hermione had snatched both his clipboard and the paper bag of Fainting Fancies from his hands.

"It is NOT excellent!"

" 'Course it is, they're alive, aren't they?" said Fred angrily.

"You can't do this, what if you made one of them really ill?"

"We're not going to make them ill, we've already tested them all on ourselves, this is just to see if everyone reacts the same —"

"If you don't stop doing it, I'm going to —"

"Put us in detention?" said Fred in an I'd-like-to-see-you-try-it voice.

"Make us write lines?" said George, smirking.

Onlookers all over the room were laughing. Hermione drew herself up to her full height; her eyes were narrowed and her bushy hair seemed to crackle with electricity.

"No," she said, her voice quivering with anger, "but I will write to your mother."

"You wouldn't," said George, horrified, taking a step back from her.

"Oh, yes, I would," said Hermione grimly. "I can't stop you eating the stupid things yourselves, but you're not giving them to first years."

Fred and George looked thunderstruck. It was clear that as far as they were concerned, Hermione's threat was way below the belt. With a last threatening look at them, she thrust Fred's clipboard and the bag of Fancies back into his arms and stalked back to her chair by the fire. Ron was now so low in his seat that his nose was roughly level with his knees.

"Thank you for your support, Ron," Hermione said acidly.

"You handled it fine by yourself," Ron mumbled.

Hermione stared down at her blank piece of parchment for a few seconds, then said edgily, "Oh, it's no good, I can't concentrate now. I'm going to bed."

She wrenched her bag open; Harry thought she was about to put her books away, but instead she pulled out two misshapen woolly objects, placed them carefully on a table by the fireplace, covered them with a few screwed-up bits of parchment and a broken quill, and stood back to admire the effect.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing?" said Ron, watching her as though fearful for her sanity.

"They're hats for house-elves," she said briskly, now stuffing her books back into her bag. "I did them over the summer. I'm a really slow knitter without magic, but now I'm back at school I should be able to make lots more."

"You're leaving out hats for the house-elves?" said Ron slowly. "And you're covering them up with rubbish first?"

"Yes," said Hermione defiantly, swinging her bag onto her back.

"That's not on," said Ron angrily. "You're trying to trick them into picking up the hats. You're setting them free when they might not want to be free."

"Of course they want to be free!" said Hermione at once, though her face was turning pink. "Don't you dare touch those hats, Ron!"

She left. Ron waited until she had disappeared through the door to the girls' dormitories, then cleared the rubbish off the woolly hats.

"They should at least see what they're picking up," he said firmly.

"Anyway . . ." He rolled up the parchment on which he had written the title of Snape's essay. "There's no point trying to finish this now, I can't do it without Hermione, I haven't got a clue what you're supposed to do with moonstones, have you?"

Harry shook his head, noticing as he did so that the ache in his right temple was getting worse. He thought of the long essay on giant wars and the pain stabbed at him sharply. Knowing perfectly well that he would regret not finishing his homework tonight when the morning came, he piled his books back into his bag.

"I'm going to bed too."

He passed Seamus on the way to the door leading to the dormitories, but did not look at him. Harry had a fleeting impression that Seamus had opened his mouth to speak, but sped up, and reached the soothing peace of the stone spiral staircase without having to endure any more provocation.

Harry went to his bed. Zero had already entered before him but didn't know when. Harry rapidly changed his robes into pajamas and walked over to were his new friend was. Out of the blue Zero took his pistol out and pointed it at Harry.

"Hey, wait a minute, Zero…" Harry said shakily. "It's me, Harry. I'm sorry for the detention. It wasn't my intention. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Zero replied. "By the way, announce yourself before coming to close. I really don't like when a pure-blood comes to close to me when I'm sleeping. It gets on my nerves."

"Sorry," Harry replied. "I'll have that in mind next time. Good night, Zero."

"'Night."

The following day dawned just as leaden and rainy as the previous one. Hagrid was still absent from the staff table at breakfast.

"But on the plus side, no Snape today," said Ron bracingly.

Hermione yawned widely and poured herself some coffee. She looked mildly pleased about something, and when Ron asked her what she had to be so happy about, she simply said, "The hats have gone. Seems the house-elves do want freedom after all."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Ron told her cuttingly. "They might not count as clothes. They didn't look anything like hats to me, more like woolly bladders."

Hermione did not speak to him all morning. Double Charms was succeeded by double Transfiguration. Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall both spent the first fifteen minutes of their lessons lecturing the class on the importance of O.W.L.s.

"What you must remember," said little Professor Flitwick squeakily, perched as ever on a pile of books so that he could see over the top of his desk, "is that these examinations may influence your futures for many years to come! If you have not already given serious thought to your careers, now is the time to do so. And in the meantime, I'm afraid, we shall be working harder than ever to ensure that you all do yourselves justice!"

They then spent more than an hour reviewing Summoning Charms, which according to Professor Flitwick were bound to come up in their O.W.L., and he rounded off the lesson by setting them their largest amount of Charms homework ever.

It was the same, if not worse, in Transfiguration.

"You cannot pass an O.W.L.," said Professor McGonagall grimly, "without serious application, practice, and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an O.W.L. in Transfiguration as long as they put in the work." Neville made a sad little disbelieving noise. "Yes, you too, Longbottom," said Professor McGonagall.

"There's nothing wrong with your work except lack of confidence. So . . . today we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until N.E.W.T. level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your O.W.L."

She was quite right; Harry found the Vanishing Spells horribly difficult. By the end of a double period, neither he nor Ron had managed to vanish the snails on which they were practicing, though Ron said hopefully that he thought his looked a bit paler. Hermione, on the other hand, successfully vanished her snail on the third attempt, earning her a ten-point bonus for Gryffindor from Professor McGonagall. She was the only person not given homework; everybody else was told to practice the spell overnight, ready for a fresh attempt on their snails the following afternoon.

Now panicking slightly about the amount of homework they had to do, Harry and Ron spent their lunch hour in the library looking up the uses of moonstones in potion-making. Still angry about Ron's slur on her woolly hats, Hermione did not join them. By the time they reached Care of Magical Creatures in the afternoon, Harry's head was aching again.

The day had become cool and breezy, and, as they walked down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they felt the occasional drop of rain on their faces. Professor Grubbly-Plank stood waiting for the class some ten yards from Hagrid's front door, a long trestle table in front of her laden with many twigs. As Harry and Ron reached her, a loud shout of laughter sounded behind them; turning, they saw Draco Malfoy striding toward them, surrounded by his usual gang of Slytherin cronies. He had clearly just said something highly amusing, because Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and the rest continued to snigger heartily as they gathered around the trestle table. Judging by the fact that all of them kept looking over at Harry, he was able to guess the subject of the joke without too much difficulty.

"Everyone here?" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, once all the Slytherins and Gryffindors had arrived. "Let's crack on then — who can tell me what these things are called?"

She indicated the heap of twigs in front of her. Hermione's hand shot into the air. Behind her back, Malfoy did a buck-toothed imitation of her jumping up and down in eagerness to answer a question. Pansy Parkinson gave a shriek of laughter that turned almost at once into a scream, as the twigs on the table leapt into the air and revealed themselves to be what looked like tiny pixieish creatures made of wood, each with knobbly brown arms and legs, two twig like fingers at the end of each hand, and a funny, flat, bark like face in which a pair of beetle-brown eyes glittered.

"Oooooh!" said Parvati and Lavender, thoroughly irritating Harry: Anyone would have thought that Hagrid never showed them impressive creatures; admittedly the flobberworms had been a bit dull, but the salamanders and hippogriffs had been interesting enough, and the Blast-Ended Skrewts perhaps too much so.

"Kindly keep your voices down, girls!" said Professor Grubbly- Plank sharply, scattering a handful of what looked like brown rice among the stick-creatures, who immediately fell upon the food.

"So — anyone know the names of these creatures? Miss Granger?"

"Bowtruckles," said Hermione. "They're tree-guardians, usually live in wand-trees."

"Five points for Gryffindor," said Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Yes, these are bowtruckles and, as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?"

"Wood lice," said Hermione promptly, which explained why what Harry had taken for grains of brown rice were moving. "But fairy eggs if they can get them."

"Good girl, take another five points. So whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of wood lice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will gouge out human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to gather closer, take a few wood lice and a bowtruckle — I have enough here for one between three — you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body parts labeled by the end of the lesson."

The class surged forward around the trestle table. Harry deliberately circled around the back so that he ended up right next to Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"Where's Hagrid?" he asked her, while everyone else was choosing bowtruckles.

"Never you mind," said Professor Grubbly-Plank repressively, which had been her attitude last time Hagrid had failed to turn up for a class too. Smirking all over his pointed face, Draco Malfoy leaned across Harry and seized the largest bowtruckle.

"Maybe," said Malfoy in an undertone, so that only Harry could hear him, "the stupid great oaf 's got himself badly injured."

"Maybe you will if you don't shut up," said Harry out of the side of his mouth. Harry's eyes began to take a tint of red in his emerald eyes. Ayame and Zero were beginning to feel his intent to kill the Malfoy kid and ran to his side. Kaname and Yuuki who were also there along with Seiren began to relax a little and started to sketch the creature in front of them.

"I suggest that, if you really don't want to lose your life," Zero began. "You start behaving like an adult and stop the childish behavior your using that someday will end up killing you."

Draco scuffed. "Maybe he's been messing with stuff that's too _big_ for him, if you get my drift." Malfoy walked away, smirking over his shoulder at Harry, who suddenly felt sick. Did Malfoy know something? His father was a Death Eater, after all; what if he had information about Hagrid's fate that had not yet reached the Order's ears?

Ayame felt Harry's little distress and wrap her left arm around the ravenet shoulder. Zero on the other hand began to glare at the blond with real hatred.

"Don't worry, Harry," Ayame reassured. "Your friend is fine."

They walked to another bowtruckle that was not taken and began to sketch it. Harry unlike other times could see the creature perfectly. He could identify every little detail the creature had. His eye sight had been getting better as well to the point his glasses were beginning to become a hindrance.

After Care of Magical Creatures, there was Herbology next. Harry, Ron, Hermione and the vampires walk to the nearest greenhouse. The door of the nearest greenhouse opened and some fourth years spilled out of it, including Ginny.

"Hi," she said brightly as she passed. A few seconds later, Luna Lovegood emerged, trailing behind the rest of the class, a smudge of earth on her nose and her hair tied in a knot on the top of her head. When she saw Harry, her prominent eyes seemed to bulge excitedly and she made a beeline straight for him. Many of his classmates turned curiously to watch. Luna took a great breath and then said, without so much as a preliminary hello: "I believe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and I believe you fought him and escaped from him."

"Er — right," said Harry awkwardly. Luna was wearing what looked like a pair of orange radishes for earrings, a fact that Parvati and Lavender seemed to have noticed, as they were both giggling and pointing at her earlobes.

After that Ernie voiced his support as well and all of the fifth years entered the greenhouse where Professor Sprout was waiting. To nobody's surprise, Professor Sprout started their lesson by lecturing them about the importance of O.W.L.s. Harry wished all the teachers would stop doing this; he was starting to get an anxious, twisted feeling in his stomach every time he remembered how much homework he had to do, a feeling that worsened dramatically when Professor Sprout gave them yet another essay at the end of class. Tired and smelling strongly of dragon dung, Professor Sprout's preferred brand of fertilizer, the Gryffindors trooped back up to the castle an hour and a half later, none of them talking very much; it had been another long day.

As Harry was starving, and he had his first detention with Umbridge at five o'clock, he headed straight for dinner without dropping off his bag in Gryffindor Tower so that he could bolt something down before facing whatever she had in store for him. He had barely reached the entrance of the Great Hall, however, when a loud and angry voice said, "Oy, Potter!"

"What now?" he muttered wearily, turning to face Angelina Johnson, who looked as though she was in a towering temper.

"I'll tell you what now," she said, marching straight up to him and poking him hard in the chest with her finger. "How come you've landed yourself in detention for five o'clock on Friday?"

"What?" said Harry. "Why . . . oh yeah, Keeper tryouts!"

" _Now_ he remembers!" snarled Angelina. "Didn't I tell you I wanted to do a tryout with the _whole team,_ and find someone who _fitted in with everyone_? Didn't I tell you I'd booked the Quidditch pitch specially? And now you've decided you're not going to be there!"

"I didn't decide not to be there!" said Harry, stung by the injustice of these words. "I got detention from that Umbridge woman, just because I told her the truth about You-Know-Who —"

"Well, you can just go straight to her and ask her to let you off on Friday," said Angelina fiercely, "and I don't care how you do it, tell her You-Know-Who's a figment of your imagination if you like, just _make sure you're there_!" She stormed away.

"You know what?" Harry said to Ron and Hermione as they entered the Great Hall. "I think we'd better check with Puddlemere United whether Oliver Wood's been killed during a training session, because she seems to be channeling his spirit."

"What d'you reckon are the odds of Umbridge letting you off on Friday?" said Ron skeptically, as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Less than zero," said Harry glumly, tipping lamb chops onto his plate and starting to eat. "Better try, though, hadn't I? I'll offer to do two more detentions or something, I dunno. . . ." He swallowed a mouthful of potato and added, "I hope she doesn't keep me too long this evening. You realize we've got to write three essays, practice Vanishing Spells for McGonagall, work out a countercharm for Flitwick, finish the bowtruckle drawing, and start that stupid dream diary for Trelawney?"

Ron moaned and for some reason glanced up at the ceiling. " _And_ it looks like it's going to rain."

"What's that got to do with our homework?" said Hermione, her eyebrows raised.

"Nothing," said Ron at once, his ears reddening.

At five to five Harry bade the other two good-bye and set off for Umbridge's office on the third floor. When he knocked on the door she said, "Come in," in a sugary voice. He entered cautiously, looking around.

He had known this office under three of its previous occupants. In the days when Gilderoy Lockhart had lived here it had been plastered in beaming portraits of its owner. When Lupin had occupied it, it was likely you would meet some fascinating Dark creature in a cage or tank if you came to call. In the impostor Moody's days it had been packed with various instruments and artifacts for the detection of wrongdoing and concealment.

Now, however, it looked totally unrecognizable. The surfaces had all been draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers, each residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a large technicolor kitten wearing a different bow around its neck. These were so foul that Harry stared at them, transfixed, until Professor Umbridge spoke again. "Good evening, Mr. Potter."

Harry started and looked around. He had not noticed her at first because she was wearing a luridly flowered set of robes that blended only too well with the tablecloth on the desk behind her.

"Evening," Harry said stiffly.

"Well, sit down," she said, pointing toward a small table draped in lace beside which she had drawn up a straight-backed chair. A piece of blank parchment lay on the table, apparently waiting for him.

"Er," said Harry, without moving. "Professor Umbridge? Er — before we start, I-I wanted to ask you a . . . a favor."

Her bulging eyes narrowed.

"Oh yes?"

"Well I'm . . . I'm on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And I was supposed to be at the tryouts for the new Keeper at five o'clock on Friday and I was — was wondering whether I could skip detention that night and do it — do it another night . . . instead . . ." He knew long before he reached the end of his sentence that it was no good.

"Oh no," said Umbridge, smiling so widely that she looked as though she had just swallowed a particularly juicy fly. "Oh no, no, no. This is your punishment for spreading evil, nasty, attention-seeking stories, Mr. Potter, and punishments certainly cannot be adjusted to suit the guilty one's convenience. No, you will come here at five o'clock tomorrow, and the next day, and on Friday too, and you will do your detentions as planned. I think it rather a good thing that you are missing something you really want to do. It ought to reinforce the lesson I am trying to teach you."

Harry felt the blood surge to his head and heard a thumping noise in his ears. So he told evil, nasty, attention-seeking stories, did he? She was watching him with her head slightly to one side, still smiling widely, as though she knew exactly what he was thinking and was waiting to see whether he would start shouting again. With a massive effort Harry looked away from her, dropped his schoolbag beside the straight-backed chair, and sat down.

"There," said Umbridge sweetly, "we're getting better at controlling our temper already, aren't we? Now, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Mr. Potter. No, not with your quill," she added, as Harry bent down to open his bag. "You're going to be using a rather special one of mine. Here you are."

She handed him a long, thin black quill with an unusually sharp point.

"I want you to write ' _I must not tell lies,_ ' " she told him softly.

"How many times?" Harry asked, with a creditable imitation of politeness.

"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to _sink in,_ " said Umbridge sweetly. "Off you go."

She moved over to her desk, sat down, and bent over a stack of parchment that looked like essays for marking. Harry raised the sharp black quill and then realized what was missing.

"You haven't given me any ink," he said.

"Oh, you won't need ink," said Professor Umbridge with the merest suggestion of a laugh in her voice. "By the way, Mr. Potter, do you know where the other two are?"

In that moment Ayame and Zero walked through the door without even knocking. Zero was glaring at the toad woman with great fervor. Ayame on the other hand looked bored. She sat down in one of the empty chairs that Umbridge had made out of nowhere. Zero sat down as well but was still glaring at the woman. Professor Umbridge giggled again.

"Well," Professor Umbridge said. "I was wondering if you were going to come. Now you're going to be doing some lines as well as is Mr. Potter. I'd like you two to write ' _I must not interfere in class_ '. Do you understand? You'll be using a special quill of mine, you won't be needing anything else. Now off you go."

They all started to write their lines. After finishing their first line a great pain took over their opposite hand that was not use for writing. A second later the words appeared and disappeared once again. The vampire princess hadn't felt so much humiliation in a while by a human. Her eyes were starting to glow blood red. Zero looked at her with the same expression she had. Harry sensing her, looked at her eyes; he looked at her apologetically. Then he looked at Zero with the same look in his eyes.

After a few hours of doing lines their skin was red with some scratches. Umbridge felt pride swell in herself. She called Harry first and then went to the vampires whose eyes were glowing blood-red still. The toad like woman smirked at the vampires and said: "so you finally show your true self you filth."

Zero began to glare even harder but Ayame calmed him down so that he didn't attack the toad woman and started the war between wizards and vampires. After a while Umbridge gave the permeation to go back to the common room. Ayame, Zero and Harry felt more tiered than usual. Unfortunately all of that blood loss with the magical quill ended up having a hungry Harry in Zero's and Ayame's hands. At that moment there was no way but for one of them to give the ravenet some of their blood. Ayame was the one to volunteer.

Zero was not happy at all. If he hadn't be a stupid level D, he could have helped the poor boy. He really knew how the boy felt. Been a pure-blood new born was not easy. Ayame on the other hand had develop feelings for the other new born prince, making her willing to exchange her blood for her new beloved. Harry without realizing had begun to develop feelings for the brunette as well and happily accepted her blood for the first time.

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A/N: Yey! Another chapter! ^.^ I hope you enjoy this and please leave reviews! I really want to know what you gays are thinking! Love you all and God bless everyone!


	5. Feelings, Confessions & More Detention

A/N: Sorry for the late update everyone. I've been feeling a little under the weather. My emotions have been a mess lately. I know that this chapter is a little to short for everyones liking but I really hope you like this chapter.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor Vampire Knight only my imagination.**

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 **Chapter 5: Feelings, Confessions and More Detention**

~Previews chapter details~

Harry's eyes were red from blood loss when they finished their first detention. Zero out of concern decided to help the poor new-born teen by giving some of his blood but Ayame out of love decided to interfere and give her blood willingly instead.

~Story starts~

The silver hair teen was confused. From the very beginning he knew that the pure-bloods blood suckers didn't like other vampires drinking their blood. Even now drinking pure blood from any pure-blood family was a taboo among vampires. Zero's beautiful lavender eyes narrowed at the thought of letting Ayame give her blood to the teen. He knew the tantrum Kaname would make when he found out about it. Not only that, but Zero was certain that if Kaname knew that it happened right in front of his eyes, the pure-blood would definitely kill him.

"Why, Ayame?" Zero asked in distress.

Ayame looked at Harry, smiled and replied: "because I love him, Zero." Harry's eyes widen at the thought of her loving him. "I would do anything and everything for him," Ayame continued.

"Ayame," Zero could do nothing in this case, he knew that. "I know how it feels like but think about what your _leader_ might do to him if he finds out." He emphasized the word leader with a spat.

"I already told him how I feel about Harry," Ayame replied.

"…" Zero was speechless. The pure-blood King, letting Ayame do this was unheard off. He knew Kaname better than anyone, he knew how the pure-blood's mind worked for a long time. To use people as chess pieces was Kuran's favorite. Zero was now afraid of what might happen but to stubborn to admitted held his tong.

Harry was flustered by the exchange of the other two before the thirst became even more unbearable. He let out a sharp cry while clutching at his throat, eyes glowing even more red. In his mind, secretly, Harry has been feeling the same way about Ayame. He fell in love with her the moment that his eyes looked upon her. You could say that it was love at first sight. Harry wanted her, he thought how her taste would be like, but at the same time he didn't wanted to hurt her. After all he didn't know anything about the vampire population, nor their costume. This was the first time Harry had ever felt at a loss, not knowing what to do or say.

"It's okay," Ayame reassured. "You can drink. Nobody can say anything as long as I've willingly given it. Not even the _King_." She emphasized the last sentence to Zero.

Harry's mind became more fussy with the thirst, so fussy that he never knew when Ayame had walk to him. Zero annoyed by Ayame's actions decided to just walk away to their common room living them alone. The brunet tilted her head to the side to give her love more access to her pale neck. Harry wrap one arm around her waist and the other to the back of her head. His fingers locking with her hair. He licked and kissed her neck lovingly first, preparing her for what was to come next. She shuddered in Harry's arms in pleasure. His fangs lengthened in a second kissing her neck one last time before biting her beautiful pale neck and tasting her for the first time. They both moaned in pure bliss at the contact. Ayame blushed at the intimate way Harry drank her blood, as if she were the most precious being in the world to him. After two mouth full of blood the ravenet teen retracted his fangs from her and closed the wound by licking and kissing it in the proses.

Harry felt his chicks burn as he saw Ayame's blush and panting form. "Ayame," he started with a blush of his own. "I want to tell you something as well." He blushed even more while replying: "I love you too. Would you be my girlfriend?"

Ayame's eyes widen at the confession and blushed even more so. By now her hole face was like a tomato. The ravenet looked at her eyes with hopeful eyes. What he saw made him smile and love her evermore. She looked at him with loving eyes, with a beautiful smile on her face. Not trusting her voice she nodded at the teen who was still looking at her.

Harry let out a sigh of contempt that he didn't know he was holding until now. The brunet smile even more in contempt before the teen lined in and give her a peck on the lips. It was so fast that the confusion didn't let her react. Harry lined again to kiss her lips feeling the softness of them in his. This time he stayed a little longer only to deepen the kiss. Ayame was surprised at first but then closed her eyes and let the kiss deepen wrapping her hands around Harry's neck in the proses. They both moaned into the kiss. Their eyes were closed by now and Harry took it upon himself to deepen the kiss more by brushing his tong in Ayame's lower lip silently asking for entrance and wrapping his arms protectively around her waist. The brunet obliged and opened her mouth a little. Harry took the liberty and thrusted his tong into her open mouth tasting every corner and memorizing every inch. Now they both were a moaning mess and the need for air was at its limit.

In that moment they remembered where they were and separated from each other panting from the intensity of their kiss. Harry took his now lover's right hand in his left and took her back to the common room. The fat lady was not happy been awaken in the middle of the night by two fifth years but never-the-less let them go in once they gave the correct password. By now there was no one in the common room. Harry decided to do his homework at that moment and Ayame, not really sleepy, decided to help him with it.

It took them the rest of the night to finish their homework but it was worth it at the end. Ayame took it upon herself to help her beloved by revising his essays and Harry did the same for her. Once morning came the only thing left to do was the dream journal for Trelawney which he just made a dream up. That day there was another detention with the toad woman after class. He hated that woman with a really big passion. To think that he would be having detention with her for the rest of the week was infuriating.

That day the others saw the change in Harry's behavior. They first thought it was their imagination since Harry was sitting beside Ron and Hermione still but then they saw that he passed more time with the vampire brunet than his best friends.

"Harry," started Hermione after they had breakfast. "Did something happened yesterday? You're a little distant today."

"No," Harry said. "Nothing happened. I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Hey, mate," Ron said. "How come you never went to bed yesterday after detention with Umbridge? I stayed up in the common room until the Zero guy return only for him to glare at me after I asked him where you were. It was 1 in the morning so I went to sleep."

Harry sighed. "Ron I never went to bed since I stayed up all night finishing homework with Ayame."

Kaname was looking from his part of the Slytherin table at Ayame and Harry. Yuuki on the other hand was looking at her little girl's interaction with Harry. The Kuran queen and king looked at each other before stepping out of the table and walking to the Gryffindor table, specifically where Harry, Ayame, Ron and Hermione were sitting.

"Ayame," started Kaname. "May I have a word with you and Harry as well? In privet, please." After saying that he give the ravenet a reassuring smile.

"Hai," (yes) Ayame said to her father. She looked at Harry for a second. Harry nodded his head as an answer. Harry and Ayame stepped out of their table bench. Ron and Hermione looked at the exchange not believing this was happening. Ron whimpered while Hermione took Harry's sleeves. Harry look at the witch smiling reassuringly and started to walk away.

All four pure-bloods walked away from the dining hall. They went to the next floor and entered the first empty classroom they saw. Harry immediately put some charms so that nobody that was passing would hear what they were talking about nor could open the door and interrupt their conversation.

"What did you wanted to talk with us," Ayame began. "Father?"

"Ayame," Yuuki began. "What happen last night? Your father and I smelled your blood."

"What did that woman did to you?" Kaname asked concerned.

Ayame looked at Harry before replying: "She made Harry, Zero and I do some lines with a magic quill." As she said that she rolled over her sleeve and Harry's so that her parents could see the marks in them.

"That toad dear touch my little baby?" asked Yuuki angrily. "Not only that but injure another pure-blood descendant." Yuuki was fuming with rage.

"Calm down, my love," Kaname said to his wife with barely concealed rage. "That woman will pay for injuring them but now is not the time. Harry, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it you want to ask," Harry replied. "My lord?"

Kaname chuckled before asking: "How do you feel about my daughter?"

Harry blushed before saying: "I'm in love with her, more than I thought, and I would do anything for her."

The king and queen smiled at his response. They could feel the bond between the two which was beginning to build. Vampires unlike other creatures have soulmates that lasted a lifetime. If something were to happen to their love one they could lose their senses and become killing monster like the case of the Hio princess Shizuka. The first step of the bond was to take each other's blood. Then to complete it they had to have sexual intercourse. None of them wanted their daughter to bond to quickly with her soulmate. They could coup with the first face but they didn't want the second and last face to occur just yet. They knew that once the last face was complete, if something bad were to happen to either of them, there will be no turning back. Never the less they were happy for their daughter. To think that her mate-to-be would be from the most agent of families, the Potter and their own.

"Harry," Kaname began. "What would you like to do?"

Harry blushed even more before saying: "I would like to have her as my girlfriend, sir."

The Kuran king and his queen smiled at him. Kaname replied then: "You have our blessing. Just one thing though, don't hurt her." He said sternly. Harry looked at the Kuran male and nodded his agreement. In that moment the bell rang and all four ran to their classroom.

That day at five they all went for detention and found themselves doing more lines with the same quill. By now the lines weren't fading completely like yesterday's. After they finished for the day Ayame was beginning to thirst for blood and Harry willingly give his completing the first step of the bond. On Thursday's detention the lines didn't fade at all and stayed imbedded on their hands completely but still Umbridge thought that the message was not yet completely imbedded to heart making them come on Friday as well. That night while going back to their common room, they run into Ron and were bound to tell the red head the truth about Harry's and Ayame's relationship as well as what Umbridge were doing with them in detention (Ron had seen Harry fidgeting with his hand that had been bandaged by Ayame and saw the blood running through the fabric).

In Friday Harry's Quidditch captain began to pester him about wanting him in the fields that day and Harry snapped at the girl telling her that he did wanted to be there in the tryouts but there was no way that he could with the detentions with Umbridge and that he had tried to talk to her about it but the woman never let him. Ayame second it telling her that he did tried to convince her but the _lady_ just ignored it.

Harry, Ayame and Zero went for their last detention like always. Ayame noticed that he was more distracted seen the game than actually writing his lines. Zero saw the interaction between the two distracted couple not wanting to keep on writing as well only with an occasional line now and then. That night the toad woman released the vampire kids early and yet late. They walked directly to their common room only to see the others celebrating. Harry and Ayame grunted at the noise while Zero glared with real tired hatred in his eyes. Ron went to Harry and told him that he had been made into Keeper and Harry too tired for anything just congratulated him and after telling Ron that he was tired, went to sleep.

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A/N: Thank you for all those that have read, favorite, followed and/or reviewed in this story. I hope to hear more thoughts and/or comments for this story in reviews. Without reviews I don't know if anything is wrong with the story so please REVIEW! ^.^ GOD bless everyone.


	6. A chaotic day of Quidditch practice

A/N: Hello, dear readers, I'm really sorry for the delay (the University took a stroll on me this semester). To make it up I'll be posting two more successive chapters. Thanks to all those who have favorite/followed/reviewed and/or read this story so far. I hope you like my story so far and please R&R.

A/N2: I'm well aware of any and all mistakes that I've done thus far in the story since it's unbetaed. Once I've finished the story I'll come again and look for all mistakes I made in it. Though I'm pretty fluent in English, it's not my mother language so please forgive me.

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Chapter 6: A chaotic day of Quidditch practice

After everyone had gone to sleep, Harry went back to the common room and found his beautiful mate waiting for him. She looked to where Harry was, smiling and went over to him to give him a peck in the lips. He lean in and deepen the kiss a little bit more before pulling back reluctantly for air.

"What are you doing here?" asked Harry.

"I thought about seen you again before going back to the girls rooms," Ayame answer. "What are you doing up anyway?"

"I was thinking about going to the owlery tomorrow and give Hedwig a letter to deliver for my godfather," Harry said. "I've been having wired dreams lately."

"What kind of dreams, my love?" asked Ayame.

"Not exactly pleasant ones," replied Harry. "I was also thinking of telling him of my love for you."

Ayame blushed at the thought of such a statement. "Okay, but what if he tries to pull us apart? I can't live without you by my side."

"Me neither, and he won't, he wants me to be happy" said Harry. "He loves me too much to do that."

Ayame nods and hugs her mate, giving Harry another peck on the lips. In that moment Zero came out of the boy's rooms and saw Harry wrapping his arms around Ayame's lower back.

"Hum, Hum," cough Zero to make his presence known to both vampires. Harry and Ayame looked at the puzzle face of the silver hair vampire hunter. Zero sighed before continuing: "okay, what did I miss this time?"

"Nothing much," Ayame said reluctantly living her lover's side and warm embrace. "We were just talking before you showed up."

Zero grunted not really into the mood. He had woke up in the middle of the night just to find Harry's bed empty. The silver hair hunter had been aware of the dreaming state the ravenet teen was having every night. The nightmares the boy had given of a powerful darken aura around the room. Sometimes it felt like cold shivers, others, an atmosphere so hot that you thought you were in an oven been cooked alive.

"Are you going to say what is happening in your dreams?" Zero asked suddenly.

"Yes, I was thinking about talking with my godfather about it." Harry replied.

"… I think you should talk with your headmaster as well," Zero said. "And also I think you should talk with Kaname-senpai about your powers going out of control while you are having those nightmares."

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry a little lost.

"Every time you have those dreams," Zero started. "The room would start to feel either chilly cold or extremely hot."

"Is that true, Harry?" Ayame asked.

"…" Harry felt very confused at that moment.

"I see," Ayame said. "I'll talk to father tomorrow. You need to get your powers under control before the humans in the dorms end up dead."

"…" Harry stayed silent.

"Don't worry," said Zero. "It's not you. Every newborn has difficulty with their power."

"We better get back to our rooms before the prefects end up finding out that were not there and come to get us," concluded Ayame.

Ayame went back to Harry and wrapped her arms around him, giving a quick peck again. The ravenet did the same wrapping his arms around her lower back. Both were pulling themselves closer to the other only to be separated by a grumpy Zero.

~In the morning~

Harry was the first to awake in his dormitory next morning. He lay for a moment watching dust swirl in the chink of sunlight falling through the gap in his four-poster's hangings and savored the thought that it was Saturday. The first week of term seemed to have dragged on forever, like one gigantic History of Magic lesson. Judging by the sleepy silence and the freshly minted look of that beam of sunlight, it was just after daybreak. He pulled open the curtains around his bed, got up, and started to dress. The only sound apart from the distant twittering of birds was the slow, deep breathing of his fellow Gryffindors. He opened his schoolbag carefully, pulled out parchment and quill, and headed out of the dormitory for the common room.

Making straight for his favorite squashy old armchair beside the now extinct fire, Harry settled himself down comfortably and unrolled his parchment while looking around the room. The detritus of crumpled-up bits of parchment, old Gobstones, empty ingredient jars, and candy wrappers that usually covered the common room at the end of each day was gone, as were all Hermione's elf hats. Wondering vaguely how many elves had now been set free whether they wanted to be or not, Harry uncorked his ink bottle, dipped his quill into it, and then held it suspended an inch above the smooth yellowish surface of his parchment, thinking hard. . . . But after a minute or so he found himself staring into the empty grate, at a complete loss for what to say.

He could now appreciate how hard it had been for Ron and Hermione to write him letters over the summer. How was he supposed to tell Sirius everything that had happened over the past week and pose all the questions he was burning to ask without giving potential letter-thieves a lot of information he did not want them to have?

He sat quite motionless for a while, gazing into the fireplace, then, finally coming to a decision, he dipped his quill into the ink bottle once more and set it resolutely upon the parchment.

 _Dear Snuffles,_

 _Hope you're okay, the first week back here's been terrible, I'm really glad it's the weekend. We've got a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. She's nearly as nice as your mum. I'm writing because that thing I wrote to you about last summer happened again last night when I was doing a detention with Umbridge. We're all missing our biggest friend, we hope he'll be back soon and one more thing; there's a girl I'd like you to meet next time. Please write back quickly._

 _Best,_

 _Harry_

Harry reread this letter several times, trying to see it from the point of view of an outsider. He could not see how they would know what he was talking about — or who he was talking to — just from reading this letter. He did hope Sirius would pick up the hint about Hagrid and tell them when he might be back: Harry did not want to ask directly in case it drew too much attention to what Hagrid might be up to while he was not at Hogwarts.

Considering it was a very short letter it had taken a long time to write; sunlight had crept halfway across the room while he had been working on it, and he could now hear distant sounds of movement from the dormitories above. Sealing the parchment carefully he climbed through the portrait hole and headed off for the Owlery.

"I would _not_ go that way if I were you," said Nearly Headless Nick, drifting disconcertingly through a wall just ahead of him as he walked down the passage. "Peeves is planning an amusing joke on the next person to pass the bust of Paracelsus halfway down the corridor."

"Does it involve Paracelsus falling on top of the person's head?" asked Harry.

"Funnily enough, it _does,_ " said Nearly Headless Nick in a bored voice. "Subtlety has never been Peeves's strong point. I'm off to try and find the Bloody Baron. . . . He might be able to put a stop to it. . . . See you, Harry. . . ."

"Yeah, 'bye," said Harry and instead of turning right, he turned left, taking a longer but safer route up to the Owlery. His spirits rose as he walked past window after window showing brilliantly blue sky; he had training later, he would be back on the Quidditch pitch at last —

Something brushed his ankles. He looked down and saw the caretaker's skeletal gray cat, Mrs. Norris, slinking past him. She turned lamp like yellow eyes upon him for a moment before disappearing behind a statue of Wilfred the Wistful.

"I'm not doing anything wrong," Harry called after her. She had the unmistakable air of a cat that was off to report to her boss, yet Harry could not see why; he was perfectly entitled to walk up to the Owlery on a Saturday morning.

The sun was high in the sky now and when Harry entered the Owlery the glassless windows dazzled his eyes; thick silvery beams of sunlight crisscrossed the circular room in which hundreds of owls nestled on rafters, a little restless in the early morning light, some clearly just returned from hunting. The straw-covered floor crunched a little as he stepped across tiny animal bones, craning his neck for a sight of Hedwig.

"There you are," he said, spotting her somewhere near the very top of the vaulted ceiling. "Get down here, I've got a letter for you."

With a low hoot she stretched her great white wings and soared down onto his shoulder.

"Right, I know this says 'Snuffles' on the outside," he told her, giving her the letter to clasp in her beak and, without knowing exactly why, whispering, "but it's for Sirius, okay?"

She blinked her amber eyes once and he took that to mean that she understood.

"Safe flight, then," said Harry and he carried her to one of the windows; with a moment's pressure on his arm Hedwig took off into the blindingly bright sky. He watched her until she became a tiny black speck and vanished, then switched his gaze to Hagrid's hut, clearly visible from this window, and just as clearly uninhabited, the chimney smokeless, the curtains drawn.

~Time skip (Great Hall)~

Harry walked to the great hall for breakfast after encountering with Cho Chang and Filch the caretaker at the owlery. "Morning," Harry said brightly to Ron and Hermione, joining them at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"What are you looking so pleased about?" said Ron, eyeing Harry in surprise.

"Quidditch later," said Harry happily, pulling a large platter of bacon and eggs toward him.

"Oh . . . yeah . . ." said Ron. He put down the bit of toast he was eating and took a large swig of pumpkin juice. Then he said, "Listen . . . you don't fancy going out a bit earlier with me, do you? Just to, err, give me some practice before training? So I can, you know, get my eye in a bit . . ."

"Yeah, okay," said Harry.

"Look, I don't think you should," said Hermione seriously, "you're both really behind on homework as it —"

But she broke off; the morning post was arriving and, as usual, the _Daily Prophet_ was soaring toward her in the beak of a screech owl, which landed perilously close to the sugar bowl and held out a leg; Hermione pushed a Knut into its leather pouch, took the newspaper, and scanned the front page critically as the owl took off again.

"Anything interesting?" said Ron; Harry smiled — he knew Ron was keen to get her off the subject of homework.

"No," she sighed, "just some guff about the bass player in the Weird Sisters getting married. . . ."

She opened the paper and disappeared behind it. Harry devoted himself to another helping of eggs and bacon; Ron was staring up at the high windows, looking slightly preoccupied.

"Wait a moment," said Hermione suddenly. "Oh no . . . Sirius!"

"What's happened?" said Harry, and he snatched at the paper so violently that it ripped down the middle so that he and Hermione were holding half each.

" ' _The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer_. . . _blah, blah, blah_. . . _is currently hiding in London_!' " Hermione read from her half in an anguished whisper.

"Lucius Malfoy, I'll bet anything," said Harry in a low, furious voice. "He _did_ recognize Sirius on the platform. . . ."

"What?" said Ron, looking alarmed. "You didn't say —"

"Shhh!" said the other two. ". . . ' _Ministry warns Wizarding community that Black is very dangerous_. . . _killed thirteen people_. . . _broke out of Azkaban_. . .' the usual rubbish," Hermione concluded, laying down her half of the paper and looking fearfully at Harry and Ron. "Well, he just won't be able to leave the house again, that's all," she whispered. "Dumbledore did warn him not to."

Harry looked down glumly at the bit of the _Prophet_ he had torn off. Most of the page was devoted to an advertisement for Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, which was apparently having a sale.

"Hey!" he said, flattening it down so Hermione and Ron could both see it. "Look at this!"

"I've got all the robes I want," said Ron.

"No," said Harry, "look . . . this little piece here . . ."

Ron and Hermione bent closer to read it; the item was barely an inch long and placed right at the bottom of a column. It was headlined:

 _ **TRESPASS AT MINISTRY**_

 _Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watch wizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o'clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defense, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban._

"Sturgis Podmore?" said Ron slowly, "but he's that bloke who looks like his head's been thatched, isn't he? He's one of the Ord —"

"Ron, _shhh_!" said Hermione, casting a terrified look around them.

"Six months in Azkaban!" whispered Harry, shocked. "Just for trying to get through a door!"

"Don't be silly, it wasn't just for trying to get through a door — what on earth was he doing at the Ministry of Magic at one o'clock in the morning?" breathed Hermione.

"D'you reckon he was doing something for the Order?" Ron muttered.

"Wait a moment. . . ." said Harry slowly. "Sturgis was supposed to come and see us off, remember?"

The other two looked at him.

"Yeah, he was supposed to be part of our guard going to King's Cross, remember? And Moody was all annoyed because he didn't turn up, so that doesn't seem like he was supposed to be on a job for them, does it?"

"Well, maybe they didn't expect him to get caught," said Hermione.

"It could be a frame-up!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "No — listen!" he went on, dropping his voice dramatically at the threatening look on Hermione's face. "The Ministry suspects he's one of Dumbledore's lot so — I dunno — they _lured_ him to the Ministry, and he wasn't trying to get through a door at all! Maybe they've just made something up to get him!"

There was a pause while Harry and Hermione considered this. Harry thought it seemed far-fetched; Hermione, on the other hand, looked rather impressed and said, "Do you know, I wouldn't be at all surprised if that were true."

~Same time in the Slytherin Common Room~

Ayame, Zero, Yuuki and Kaname were all in the Slytherin common room talking to each other in Japanese. Each wore a expressionless face while they talked.

" **Well, what is it you want to talk about?** " Kaname asked Zero in a monotone voice.

" **Harry's powers are beginning to unleash themselves,** " Zero answer.

" **What powers?** " Kaname asked.

" **For what I've been able to see and feel, I guess…** " Zero said before continuing. " **water and fire.** "

" **Water and Fire?!** " Kaname was astounded. " **Really Zero and when was it that you were going to tell me this?!** "

" **Father, Zero isn't at fault!** " Ayame said. " **He was having great control of his powers…until he started detention with Umbridge.** "

" **So your saying that it all happen thanks to that toad woman,** " Kaname concluded.

" **Yes, father,** " Ayame affirmed.

" **We'll need to give him training so that he doesn't end up killing the students by accident,** " Kaname told his daughter. " **I'm counting on you my little princess to tell him. We start his training in two weeks.** "

" **Of course father,** " Ayame confirmed bowing her head.

" **But Kaname we need a secret room that doesn't contain any humans in it,** " Yuuki said a little exasperated.

" **That's why I said two weeks, my love,** " Kaname answer.

" **Well I'm going to the Quidditch pitch right now,** " Ayame said. " **Harry's going to practice and I want to be there for him."**

Ayame went to her parents and gave them each a peck on the chick and a hug before living the common room. Later she went to the great hall took a little food and water which she made into blood with the new tablet and went to the common room again to wait a little more until it was time for the Quidditch practice.

~Later Quidditch pitch~

Harry glanced over to his right as they approached the Quidditch pitch, to where the trees of the Forbidden Forest were swaying darkly. Nothing flew out of them; the sky was empty but for a few distant owls fluttering around the Owlery Tower. He had enough to worry about; the flying horse wasn't doing him any harm: He pushed it out of his mind.

They collected balls from the cupboard in the changing room and set to work, Ron guarding the three tall goalposts, Harry playing Chaser and trying to get the Quaffle past Ron. Harry thought Ron was pretty good; he blocked three-quarters of the goals Harry attempted to put past him and played better the longer they practiced.

After a couple of hours they returned to the school, where they ate lunch, during which Hermione made it quite clear that she thought they were irresponsible, then returned to the Quidditch pitch for the real training session. All their teammates but Angelina were already in the changing room when they entered.

"All right, Ron?" said George, winking at him.

"Yeah," said Ron, who had become quieter and quieter all the way down to the pitch.

"Ready to show us all up, Ickle Prefect?" said Fred, emerging tousle-haired from the neck of his Quidditch robes, a slightly malicious grin on his face.

"Shut up," said Ron, stony-faced, pulling on his own team robes for the first time. They fitted him well considering they had been Oliver Wood's, who was rather broader in the shoulder.

"Okay everyone," said Angelina, entering from the Captain's office, already changed. "Let's get to it; Alicia and Fred, if you can just bring the ball crate out for us. Oh, and there are a couple of people out there watching but I want you to just ignore them, all right?"

Something in her would-be casual voice made Harry think he might know who the uninvited spectators were, and sure enough, when they left the changing room for the bright sunlight of the pitch it was to a storm of catcalls and jeers from the Slytherin Quidditch team and assorted hangers-on, who were grouped halfway up the empty stands and whose voices echoed loudly around the stadium.

"What's that Weasley's riding?" Malfoy called in his sneering drawl.

"Why would anyone put a Flying Charm on a moldy old log like that?" Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson guffawed and shrieked with laughter. Ron mounted his broom and kicked off from the ground and Harry followed him, watching his ears turn red from behind.

"Ignore them," he said, accelerating to catch up with Ron. "We'll see who's laughing after we play them. . . ."

"Exactly the attitude I want, Harry," said Angelina approvingly, soaring around them with the Quaffle under her arm and slowing to hover on the spot in front of her airborne team. "Okay everyone, we're going to start with some passes just to warm up, the whole team please —"

"Hey, Johnson, what's with that hairstyle anyway?" shrieked Pansy Parkinson from below. "Why would anyone want to look like they've got worms coming out of their head?"

Angelina swept her long braided hair out of her face and said calmly, "Spread out, then, and let's see what we can do. . . ."

Harry reversed away from the others to the far side of the pitch. Ron fell back toward the opposite goal. Angelina raised the Quaffle with one hand and threw it hard to Fred, who passed to George, who passed to Harry, who passed to Ron, who dropped it.

The Slytherins, led by Malfoy, roared and screamed with laughter. Ron, who had pelted toward the ground to catch the Quaffle before it landed, pulled out of the dive untidily, so that he slipped sideways on his broom, and returned to playing height, blushing. Harry saw Fred and George exchange looks, but uncharacteristically neither of them said anything, for which he was grateful.

"Pass it on, Ron," called Angelina, as though nothing had happened. Ron threw the Quaffle to Alicia, who passed back to Harry, who passed to George. . . .

"Hey, Potter, how's your scar feeling?" called Malfoy. "Sure you don't need a lie-down? It must be, what, a whole week since you were in the hospital wing, that's a record for you, isn't it?"

Fred passed to Angelina; she reverse passed to Harry, who had not been expecting it, but caught it in the very tips of his fingers and passed it quickly to Ron, who lunged for it and missed by inches.

"Come on now, Ron," said Angelina crossly, as Ron dived for the ground again, chasing the Quaffle. "Pay attention."

It would have been hard to say whether Ron's face or the Quaffle was a deeper scarlet when he returned again to playing height. Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin team were howling with laughter.

On his third attempt, Ron caught the Quaffle; perhaps out of relief he passed it on so enthusiastically that it soared straight through Katie's outstretched hands and hit her hard in the face.

"Sorry!" Ron groaned, zooming forward to see whether he had done any damage.

"Get back in position, she's fine!" barked Angelina. "But as you're passing to a teammate, do _try_ not to knock her off her broom, won't you? We've got Bludgers for that!"

Katie's nose was bleeding. Down below the Slytherins were stamping their feet and jeering. Fred and George converged on Katie.

"Here, take this," Fred told her, handing her something small and purple from out of his pocket. "It'll clear it up in no time."

"All right," called Angelina, "Fred, George, go and get your bats and a Bludger; Ron, get up to the goalposts, Harry, release the Snitch when I say so. We're going to aim for Ron's goal, obviously."

Harry zoomed off after the twins to fetch the Snitch.

"Ron's making a right pig's ear of things, isn't he?" muttered George, as the three of them landed at the crate containing the balls and opened it to extract one of the Bludgers and the Snitch.

"He's just nervous," said Harry. "He was fine when I was practicing with him this morning."

"Yeah, well, I hope he hasn't peaked too soon," said Fred gloomily.

They returned to the air. When Angelina blew her whistle, Harry released the Snitch and Fred and George let fly the Bludger; from that moment on, Harry was barely aware of what the others were doing. It was his job to recapture the tiny fluttering golden ball that was worth a hundred and fifty points to the Seeker's team and doing so required enormous speed and skill. He accelerated, rolling and swerving in and out of the Chasers, the warm autumn air whipping his face and the distant yells of the Slytherins so much meaningless roaring in his ears. . . . But too soon, the whistle brought him to a halt again.

"Stop — _stop_ – STOP!" screamed Angelina. "Ron — you're not covering your middle post!"

Harry looked around at Ron, who was hovering in front of the left hand hoop, leaving the other two completely unprotected.

"Oh . . . sorry . . ."

"You keep shifting around while you're watching the Chasers!" said Angelina. "Either stay in center position until you have to move to defend a hoop, or else circle the hoops, but don't drift vaguely off to one side, that's how you let in the last three goals!"

"Sorry . . ." Ron repeated, his red face shining like a beacon against the bright blue sky.

"And Katie, can't you do something about that nosebleed?"

"It's just getting worse!" said Katie thickly, attempting to stem the flow with her sleeve.

Harry glanced around at Fred, who was looking anxious and checking his pockets. He saw Fred pull out something purple, examine it for a second, and then look around at Katie, evidently horrorstruck.

"Well, let's try again," said Angelina. She was ignoring the Slytherins, who had now set up a chant of " _Gryffindor are losers, Gryffindor are losers,_ " but there was a certain rigidity about her seat on the broom nevertheless.

This time they had been flying for barely three minutes when Angelina's whistle sounded. Harry, who had just sighted the Snitch circling the opposite goalpost, pulled up feeling distinctly aggrieved.

"What now?" he said impatiently to Alicia, who was nearest.

"Katie," she said shortly.

Harry turned and saw Angelina, Fred, and George all flying as fast as they could toward Katie. Harry and Alicia sped toward her too. It was plain that Angelina had stopped training just in time; Katie was now chalk-white and covered in blood.

"She needs the hospital wing," said Angelina.

"We'll take her," said Fred. "She, err, might have swallowed a Blood Blisterpod by mistake —"

"Well, there's no point continuing with no Beaters and a Chaser gone," said Angelina glumly, as Fred and George zoomed off toward the castle supporting Katie between them. "Come on, let's go and get changed."

The Slytherins continued to chant as they trailed back into the changing rooms. Right when the Gryffindor team was entering the changing room, Ayame, with all the delicacy in the world went to the Slytherins. There she began to stop their chanting and after they stopped gave them a death glare and told them never to do that again. She was incredibly mad, fuming, that those kids would be so incredibly childish for their own good. Hermione was by Ayame's side trying to stop her from killing the Slytherins.

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A/N: I hope that you like this new chapter and forgive me for my tardiness. Please I need more reviews. Without them I don't feel motivated and though I'll finish the story it will be at a slower pace. I feel honor of the popularity this story has gain in such a short time. Thank you very much for the favorites and follows as well as the reviews thus far. Love you all! ;)


	7. Sirius Answer

A/N: This story is still unbetaed so please bear with me for a little while. I know this chapter is the shortest that I've made thus far but there be more, I just didn't want to put the other chapter in this one because it would not fit with it, so I decided to cut it short. I hope you enjoy this chapter and keep on reading my story.

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Chapter 7: Sirius Answer

~Gryffindor's common room~

Ron was fuming the moment that Quidditch practice was over. He was so mad that went straight to the study hall to start his homework. Hermione was trying to be a smart ass as always and only ended up on Ron's bad side. Harry and Ayame were both cuddle in a sofa waiting for the other two lovebirds to make-up once and for all. As they lay there Harry saw the silhouette of Sirius head on the fireplace.

"Er — Harry?" said Ron uncertainly. "Why are you down there?"

"Because I've just seen Sirius's head in the fire," said Harry.

He spoke quite calmly; after all, he had seen Sirius's head in this very fire the previous year and talked to it too. Nevertheless, he could not be sure that he had really seen it this time. . . . It had vanished so quickly. . . .

"Sirius's head?" Hermione repeated. "You mean like when he wanted to talk to you during the Triwizard Tournament? But he wouldn't do that now, it would be too — _Sirius_!"

She gasped, gazing at the fire; Ron dropped his quill. There in the middle of the dancing flames sat Sirius's head, long dark hair falling around his grinning face.

"I was starting to think you'd go to bed before everyone else had disappeared," he said. "I've been checking every hour."

"You've been popping into the fire every hour?" Harry said, half laughing.

"Just for a few seconds to check if the coast was clear yet."

"But what if you'd been seen?" said Hermione anxiously.

"Well, I think a girl — first year by the look of her — might've got a glimpse of me earlier, but don't worry," Sirius said hastily, as Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth. "I was gone the moment she looked back at me and I'll bet she just thought I was an oddly shaped log or something."

"But Sirius, this is taking an awful risk —" Hermione began.

"You sound like Molly," said Sirius. "This was the only way I could come up with of answering Harry's letter without resorting to a code — and codes are breakable."

At the mention of Harry's letter, Hermione and Ron had both turned to stare at him.

"You didn't say you'd written to Sirius!" said Hermione accusingly.

"I forgot," said Harry, which was perfectly true; his meeting with Cho in the Owlery had driven everything before it out of his mind.

"Don't look at me like that, Hermione, there was no way anyone would have got secret information out of it, was there, Sirius?"

"No, it was very good," said Sirius, smiling. "Anyway, we'd better be quick, just in case we're disturbed — your scar."

"What about — ?" Ron began, but Hermione said quickly, "We'll tell you afterward, go on, Sirius."

"Well, I know it can't be fun when it hurts, but we don't think it's anything to really worry about. It kept aching all last year, didn't it?"

"Yeah, and Dumbledore said it happened whenever Voldemort was feeling a powerful emotion," said Harry, ignoring, as usual, Ron and Hermione's winces. "So maybe he was just, I dunno, really angry or something the night I had that detention."

"Well, now he's back it's bound to hurt more often," said Sirius.

"So you don't think it had anything to do with Umbridge touching me when I was in detention with her?" Harry asked.

"I doubt it," said Sirius. "I know her by reputation and I'm sure she's no Death Eater —"

"She's foul enough to be one," said Harry darkly and Ron and Hermione nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters," said Sirius with a wry smile. "I know she's a nasty piece of work, though — you should hear Remus talk about her."

"Does Lupin know her?" asked Harry quickly, remembering Umbridge's comments about dangerous half-breeds during her first lesson.

"No," said Sirius, "but she drafted a bit of anti-werewolf legislation two years ago that makes it almost impossible for him to get a job."

Harry remembered how much shabbier Lupin looked these days and his dislike of Umbridge deepened even further.

"What's she got against werewolves?" said Hermione angrily.

"Scared of them, I expect," said Sirius, smiling at her indignation.

"Apparently she loathes part-humans; she campaigned to have merpeople rounded up and tagged last year too. Imagine wasting your time and energy persecuting merpeople when there are little toerags like Kreacher on the loose —"

Ron laughed but Hermione looked upset.

"Sirius!" she said reproachfully. "Honestly, if you made a bit of an effort with Kreacher I'm sure he'd respond, after all, you are the only member of his family he's got left, and Professor Dumbledore said —"

"So what are Umbridge's lessons like?" Sirius interrupted. "Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?"

"No," said Harry, ignoring Hermione's affronted look at being cut off in her defense of Kreacher. "She's not letting us use magic at all!"

"All we do is read the stupid textbook," said Ron.

"Ah, well, that figures," said Sirius. "Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

" _Trained in combat_?" repeated Harry incredulously. "What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?"

"That's exactly what he thinks you're doing," said Sirius, "or rather, that's exactly what he's afraid Dumbledore's doing — forming his own private army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic."

There was a pause at this, then Ron said, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna Lovegood comes out with."

"So we're being prevented from learning Defense Against the Dark Arts because Fudge is scared we'll use spells against the Ministry?" said Hermione, looking furious.

"Yep," said Sirius. "Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. It's a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped-up charge."

In that moment Ayame -who was in the sofa until now- wrap her hands around her mate and kissed his cheek. The moment Harry felt his mate, a smile graced his fine features.

"Um…Sirius… I'd like you to meet mi girlfriend," Harry began. "Ayame Kuran, one of this year's exchange student."

Sirius was baffle for a moment staring at the girl. The animagus could tell that she wasn't a normal human girl, he felt the power emanating from the being. Still he could see the love that emanated from both teens and felt happy for his godson. Sirius felt like he knew that name from somewhere.

"I'm happy that you have gifted me with seen the person you love, Harry," Sirius said while smiling lovingly to the both. "I'm looking forward to knowing you Ms. Kuran."

Ayame smiled at Sirius and said: "I'm looking forward to knowing you as well, Black-san."

"Well, I'd better get going," said Sirius. "I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I?"

There was a tiny _pop,_ and the place where Sirius's head had been was flickering flame once more.

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A/N: Please I need more Reviews for inspiration to come and help me make a story worth reading! I'm sorry for not Uploading anything for months, I'm in third year senior in the University and it's been chaotic this semester. XD I wish you all a very happy winter hollidays! Love you all! ^-*


	8. First Day of Learning with the Kurans

A/N: Thank you very much for the new favorites, follows and reviews. I'm really sorry about the late updates T-T I hope you like this part that even though is a side story, it's very important for its development.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter nor Vampire Knight, they belong to their respective authors J. K. Rowling and Matsuri Hino-san! I just own the plot and the OC's in this story; nothing more, nothing less!

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Chapter 8: Harry's First Day of Learning with the Kurans

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ayame got up early the next morning for breakfast. They had expected to have to comb Hermione's Daily Prophet carefully next morning to find the article Percy had mentioned in his letter. However, the departing delivery owl had barely cleared the top of the milk jug when Hermione let out a huge gasp and flattened the newspaper to reveal a large photograph of Dolores Umbridge, smiling widely and blinking slowly at them from beneath the headline:

 _ **MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"**_

" 'High Inquisitor'?" said Harry darkly, his half-eaten bit of toast slipping from his fingers. "What does that mean?"

Hermione read aloud: _"In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

"' _The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time,' said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. 'He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve.'_

" _This is not the first time in recent weeks Fudge has used new laws to effect improvements at the Wizarding school. As recently as August 30th Educational Decree Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person._

"' _That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts,' said Weasley last night. 'Dumbledore couldn't find anyone, so the Minister put in Umbridge and of course, she's been an immediate success —'"_

" _She's been a WHAT?" said Harry loudly._

" _Wait, there's more," said Hermione grimly. " '— an immediate success, totally revolutionizing the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts.'_

" _It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalized with the passing of Educational Decree Twenty-three, which creates the new position of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor.'_

"' _This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the "falling standards" at Hogwarts,' said Weasley. 'The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch. Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post, and we are delighted to say that she has accepted.'_

" _The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts._

"' _I feel much easier in my mind now that I know that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation,' said Mr. Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. 'Many of us with our children's best interests at heart have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and will be glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation.'_

" _Among those 'eccentric decisions' are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously described in this newspaper, which have included the hiring of werewolf Remus Lupin, half giant Rubeus Hagrid, and delusional ex-Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody._

" _Rumors abound, of course, that Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts._

"' _I think the appointment of the Inquisitor is a first step toward ensuring that Hogwarts has a headmaster in whom we can all repose confidence,' said a Ministry insider last night._

" _Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest at the introduction of the post of Inquisitor to Hogwarts._

"' _Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office,' said Madam Marchbanks. 'This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore.' ( For a full account of Madam Marchbanks' alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page 17 )."_

Hermione finished reading and looked across the table at the other two. "So now we know how we ended up with Umbridge! Fudge passed this 'Educational Decree' and forced her on us! And now he's given her the power to inspect other teachers!" Hermione was breathing fast and her eyes were very bright. "I can't believe this. It's outrageous. … "

"I know it is," said Harry. Ayame cuddled into her bond mate, wrapping her arms around his neck while thinking on what Hermione had read. A few minutes later, her parents came to the four kids along with Zero. They all had a really worried expressions. Kaname looked to the pureblood pair. Ayame looked at her fellow vampires and nodded taking Harry's hand.

"Harry-kun we need to talk, can you come with us?" asked the pureblood king. "You too, Ayame."

"Of course sir," said Harry while nodding in agreement. "Lead the way."

~In an empty classroom~

Harry had put some charms so that no-body could overhear their conversation nor come bulging in until it was over. The ravenet was looking at his father-in-law in confusion. The brunet king was pacing around thinking how to phrase everything. Yuuki walked to her husband and took his hand in hers squeezing it reassuringly. The silverette stared at the brunet royals letting out a sigh.

"Kuran hurry up," called the ex-human. "Or we'll be late for class today."

The pureblood king sigh before saying: "Right. Harry, meet us today after class in the seventh floor. It's you learn how to control you're powers before you kill someone dear to you."

"Kaname~!" Yuuki called. Zero give the pureblood the famous Kiryuu glare in response. "That wasn't very nice to say!"

"It's okay, Mrs. Yuuki," Harry replied. "I'd rather he tells me the truth of the situation to my face than withhold it, keeping me in the dark, and something bad happens, ending up hurting someone I care for."

Both pureblood males looked at each other and nodded in understanding. Ayame looked at the males slightly smiling in approval. She squeezed his hand slightly while saying: "We better go to class before the toad woman comes looking for us."

~That evening, seventh floor~

Kaname, Yuuki, Ayame and Harry were now in the 'Room of Requirement'. Apparently Zero had come across it two days ago while trying to escape the toad hag after the Weasley twins and himself tried to prank her. The next day the silverette told Ayame and the said girl told her parents. They explained that the room could be made into whatever you need at the moment. In that instant the room looked like a training ground. It had mats on one side of the place for hand to hand combat as well as dummies, book shelves full on elemental magic books and a especial place where you could practice elemental magic. This place had a little pond for water element technics, some dirt for earth, a candle for fire and a fan for air.

Harry looked at the place awe stroked. He couldn't believe that the headmaster had kept this place a secret to everyone in the school. 'This is amazing' the ravenet thought. Kaname noted the look on the boy's face and twitch his lips in a small smile.

"I see the room is of your liking," Kaname stated trying not to smirk at the youngster's face.

Harry nodded and took a serious face after seen Kaname's expression. The older male smiled and nodded in return and said: "I've summoned you here today to start your training, but first, we need to make sure which are your powers." Kaname signal the special elemental place to Harry. After that he said: " Very well, I need you to listen to me while I explain. There is a requirement for every element. Water, is a healing power and it can be used for combat if you have Air as well; in that case it'll turn to Ice. Fire, it's an element that can bring warmth, light and death; it is referred as one of the combat powers alongside Air. Earth can be used for camouflage; alongside Fire, it can become Lava and destroy everything within it's path. Air is another combat element, it can either help or destroy. This element combined with Water, Earth and Fire can create a Storm with Lightning. It's very useful in real combat. With element magic you can use it separately, in combination, alongside nature or within your own body for protection."

Kaname stopped his explaining and waited for a little while for the ravenet to process the information before continuing: "from what Zero reported you can manipulate Fire, Water and Air. What I want you to do is very simple, extend your hands in every element and then I'll explain the verdict of your powers and how to control them."

Harry did as the pureblood commanded and extended his hands to the pond. Half of the water in the pond turned to Ice while the other half came to his other hand, wrapping itself around his abused body and healing the outside scars as well as broken bones. All the Kuran's were in awe seen this. The raven hair boy went to the candle, still unlit, and lighted it with great ease. Later the boy went to the pond of dirt and extended both his hands again. This time, much like in the pond of water, half of the dirt came to him and help camouflage and the other half turned to lava, melting some of the pond. After it, he went to the fan and to everyone's amazement the fan not only levitated but also started to conduct electricity and making lightning.

Once Harry finished, he went back to the brunets and waited for their verdict. It took a few minutes for all the royals to find their vocal cords. The first to return to composure was, of course, Kaname. The king later said: "Well, you're a rarity even among us. I've never seen anyone that can use all the elements and certainly not to their fullest either. An Level B can use one maybe two elements if it's for combat, while purebloods can use two to three elements. No pureblood has ever been able to call and use all of them and even the rarest among us can only have two combat and two defensive ones. You on the other hand not only have all the elements but can use it whichever you'd like, be it defensive or offensive. There was only one more with such powers and that was our Kuran ancestor, the very first to be born in our family."

Harry looked and the Kuran king with shock in his emerald eyes. He could not believe that he was the only one after the first Kuran ancestor to gain such powers. Censing her bond mate's discomfort Ayame went to him, giving a reassuring smile and a peck on the lips. The ravenet rapidly responded to the stimulation. The brunet king watch silently for a minute or two before deciding to clear his throat, successfully separating the teenagers with both teens blushing bright red.

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A/N2: Thank you for everyone that's been leaving reviews after reading, they make my day! I really hope you like the story so far. Please Review! I really think that leaving comments can help improve my writing skills but please, **NO BASHING!** It really degrades the one that is writing it! I'm open to constructive criticism and positive feedbacks. I'm also aware that I have some misspellings. **I'm not perfect!** The thing is that, even though I know English, it's not my natal language. I'll come back after I finish it and fix it. I'm really sorry for my rants and not uploading when I was supposed to upload the chapter. I really hope you like my story still so leave a comment right bellow where the REVIEW button is! Thanks again for all those that are following, reviewing and have favored this (my first) story! *bow to all my readers in gratitude*


	9. Hogwarts High Inquisitor

Sorry to have made you wait everyone but without further urdu here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Please R&R! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

Disclaimer: **I** **do not** **own** Harry Potter nor Vampire Knight! They belong to their respective authors J. K. Rowling and Matsuri Hino. I will never be able to compare with both authors, I just like playing with their works!

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Chapter 9: Hogwarts High Inquisitor

After reading the 'Prophet' in the Great Hall about Umbridge position as "Hogwarts High Inquisitor" all students went to take their classes. None of the fifth year students saw her in their morning classes, however, Harry, Ron and all those that had Divination saw the toad woman enter Professor Trelawney's class. He was pulling out his dream diary in a seat at the very back of the shadowy Divination room when Ron elbowed him in the ribs and, looking round, he saw Professor Umbridge emerging through the trapdoor in the floor. The class, which had been talking cheerily, fell silent at once. The abrupt fall in the noise level made Professor Trelawney, who had been wafting about handing out Dream Oracles, look round.

"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney," said Professor Umbridge with her wide smile. "You received my note, I trust? Giving the time and date of your inspection?" Professor Trelawney nodded curtly and, looking very disgruntled, turned her back on Professor Umbridge and continued to give out books. Still smiling, Professor Umbridge grasped the back of the nearest armchair and pulled it to the front of the class so that it was a few inches behind Professor Trelawney's seat. She then sat down, took her clipboard from her flowery bag, and looked up expectantly, waiting for the class to begin. Professor Trelawney pulled her shawls tight about her with slightly trembling hands and surveyed the class through her hugely magnifying lenses.

"We shall be continuing our study of prophetic dreams today," she said in a brave attempt at her usual mystic tones, though her voice shook slightly. "Divide into pairs, please, and interpret each other's latest night-time visions with the aid of the Oracle. " She made as though to sweep back to her seat, saw Professor Umbridge sitting right beside it, and immediately veered left toward Parvati and Lavender, who were already deep in discussion about Parvati's most recent dream. Harry opened his copy of The Dream Oracle, watching Umbridge covertly. She was making notes on her clipboard now. After a few minutes she got to her feet and began to pace the room in Trelawney's wake, listening to her conversations with students and posing questions here and there. Harry bent his head hurriedly over his book.

"Now," said Umbridge, looking up at Trelawney, "you've been in this post how long, exactly?" Professor Trelawney scowled at her, arms crossed and shoulders hunched as though wishing to protect herself as much as possible from the indignity of the inspection. After a slight pause in which she seemed to decide that the question was not so offensive that she could reasonably ignore it, she said in a deeply resentful tone, "Nearly sixteen years."

"Quite a period," said Professor Umbridge, making a note on her clipboard. "So it was Professor Dumbledore who appointed you?"

"That's right," said Professor Trelawney shortly. Professor Umbridge made another note. "And you are a great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated Seer Cassandra Trelawney?"

"Yes," said Professor Trelawney, holding her head a little higher. Another note on the clipboard. "But I think — correct me if I am mistaken — that you are the first in your family since Cassandra to be possessed of second sight?"

"These things often skip — er — three generations," said Professor Trelawney.

Professor Umbridge's toad like smile widened. "Of course," she said sweetly, making yet another note. "Well, if you could just predict something for me, then?" She looked up inquiringly, still smiling. Professor Trelawney had stiffened as though unable to believe her ears.

"I don't understand you," said Professor Trelawney, clutching convulsively at the shawl around her scrawny neck.

"I'd like you to make a prediction for me," said Professor Umbridge very clearly. Harry and Ron were not the only people watching and listening sneakily from behind their books now; most of the class were staring transfixed at Professor Trelawney as she drew herself up to her full height, her beads and bangles clinking. "The Inner Eye does not See upon command!" she said in scandalized tones.

"I see," said Professor Umbridge softly, making yet another note on her clipboard. "I — but — but … wait!" said Professor Trelawney suddenly, in an attempt at her usual ethereal voice, though the mystical effect was ruined somewhat by the way it was shaking with anger. "I … I think I do see something … something that concerns you. … Why, I sense something … something dark … some grave peril …" Professor Trelawney pointed a shaking finger at Professor Umbridge who continued to smile blandly at her, eyebrows raised. "I am afraid … I am afraid that you are in grave danger!" Professor Trelawney finished dramatically. There was a pause.

Professor Umbridge's eyebrows were still raised. "Right," she said softly, scribbling on her clipboard once more. "Well, if that's really the best you can do …" She turned away, leaving Professor Trelawney standing rooted to the spot, her chest heaving. Harry caught Ron's eye and knew that Ron was thinking exactly the same as he was: They both knew that Professor Trelawney was an old fraud, but on the other hand, they loathed Umbridge so much that they felt very much on Trelawney's side — until she swooped down on them a few seconds later, that was.

"Well?" she said, snapping her long fingers under Harry's nose, uncharacteristically brisk. "Let me see the start you've made on your dream diary, please." And by the time she had interpreted Harry's dreams at the top of her voice (all of which, even the ones that involved eating porridge, apparently foretold a gruesome and early death), he was feeling much less sympathetic toward her. All the while, Professor Umbridge stood a few feet away, making notes on that clipboard, and when the bell rang she descended the silver ladder first so that she was waiting for them all when they reached their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson ten minutes later.

She was humming and smiling to herself when they entered the room. Harry and Ron told Hermione, who had been in Arithmancy, exactly what had happened in Divination while they all took out their copies of Defensive Magical Theory, but before Hermione could ask any questions Professor Umbridge had called them all to order and silence fell. "Wands away," she instructed them all smilingly, and those people who had been hopeful enough to take them out sadly returned them to their bags. "As we finished chapter one last lesson, I would like you all to turn to page nineteen today and commence chapter two, 'Common Defensive Theories and Their Derivation.' There will be no need to talk."

Still smiling her wide, self-satisfied smile, she sat down at her desk. The class gave an audible sigh as it turned, as one, to page nineteen. Harry wondered dully whether there were enough chapters in the book to keep them reading through all this year's lessons and was on the point of checking the contents when he noticed that Hermione had her hand in the air again. Professor Umbridge had noticed too, and what was more, she seemed to have worked out a strategy for just such an eventuality. Instead of trying to pretend she had not noticed Hermione, she got to her feet and walked around the front row of desks until they were face-to-face, then she bent down and whispered, so that the rest of the class could not hear, "What is it this time, Miss Granger?"

"I've already read chapter two," said Hermione. "Well then, proceed to chapter three." "I've read that too. I've read the whole book." Professor Umbridge blinked but recovered her poise almost instantly. "Well, then, you should be able to tell me what Slinkhard says about counterjinxes in chapter fifteen."

"He says that counterjinxes are improperly named," said Hermione promptly. "He says 'counterjinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable." Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows, and Harry knew she was impressed against her will. "But I disagree," Hermione continued. Professor Umbridge's eyebrows rose a little higher and her gaze became distinctly colder. "You disagree?"

"Yes, I do," said Hermione, who, unlike Umbridge, was not whispering, but speaking in a clear, carrying voice that had by now attracted the rest of the class's attention. "Mr. Slinkhard doesn't like jinxes, does he? But I think they can be very useful when they're used defensively."

"Oh, you do, do you?" said Professor Umbridge, forgetting to whisper and straightening up. "Well, I'm afraid it is Mr. Slinkhard's opinion, and not yours, that matters within this classroom, Miss Granger."

"But —" Hermione began.

"That is enough," said Professor Umbridge. She walked back to the front of the class and stood before them, all the jauntiness she had shown at the beginning of the lesson gone. "Miss Granger, I am going to take five points from Gryffindor House." There was an outbreak of muttering at this.

"What for?" said Harry angrily.

"Don't you get involved!" Hermione whispered urgently to him.

"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions," said Professor Umbridge smoothly. "I am here to teach you using a Ministry-approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinions on matters about which they understand very little. Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more license, but as none of them — with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age-appropriate subjects — would have passed a Ministry inspection —"

"Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher," said Harry loudly, "there was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head." This pronouncement was followed by one of the loudest silences Harry had ever heard. Then — "I think another week's detentions would do you some good, Mr. Potter," said Umbridge sleekly. After classes Harry and the Kuran's went to the seventh floor to the 'Room of Requirement' to begin Harry's instruction on his powers. In the evening the ravenet teen went for detention with the toad like woman which made him do the same lines as before with the same quill.

~Next Day~

The very worst part of this second weeks' worth of detentions was, just as George had predicted, Angelina's reaction. She cornered him just as he arrived at the Gryffindor table for breakfast on Tuesday and shouted so loudly that Professor McGonagall came sweeping down upon the pair of them from the staff table.

"Miss Johnson, how dare you make such a racket in the Great Hall! Five points from Gryffindor!" said Professor McGonagall.

"But Professor — he's gone and landed himself in detention again —" started Angelina.

"What's this, Potter?" said Professor McGonagall sharply, rounding on Harry. "Detention? From whom?"

"From Professor Umbridge," muttered Harry, not meeting Professor McGonagall's beady, square-framed eyes.

"Are you telling me," she said, lowering her voice so that the group of curious Ravenclaws behind them could not hear, "that after the warning I gave you last Monday you lost your temper in Professor Umbridge's class again?"

"Yes," Harry muttered, speaking to the floor.

"Potter, you must get a grip on yourself! You are heading for serious trouble! Another five points from Gryffindor!" said Professor McGonagall exasperatedly.

"But — what? Professor, no!" Harry said, furious at this injustice. "I'm already being punished by her, why do you have to take points as well?"

"Because detentions do not appear to have any effect on you whatsoever!" said Professor McGonagall tartly. "No, not another word of complaint, Potter! And as for you, Miss Johnson, you will confine your shouting matches to the Quidditch pitch in future or risk losing the team Captaincy!" She strode back toward the staff table. Angelina gave Harry a look of deepest disgust and stalked away, upon which Harry flung himself onto the bench beside Ron, fuming. "She's taken points off Gryffindor because I'm having my hand sliced open every night! How is that fair, how ?"

"I know, mate," said Ron sympathetically, tipping bacon onto Harry's plate, "she's bang out of order." Hermione, however, merely rustled the pages of her Daily Prophet and said nothing. "You think McGonagall was right, do you?" said Harry angrily to the picture of Cornelius Fudge obscuring Hermione's face. "I wish she hadn't taken points from you, but I think she's right to warn you not to lose your temper with Umbridge," said Hermione's voice, while Fudge gesticulated forcefully from the front page, clearly giving some kind of speech.

Harry did not speak to Hermione all through Charms, but when they entered Transfiguration he forgot his anger; Professor Umbridge and her clipboard were sitting in a corner and the sight of her drove the memory of breakfast right out of his head. "Excellent," whispered Ron, as they sat down in their usual seats. "Let's see Umbridge get what she deserves." Professor McGonagall marched into the room without giving the slightest indication that she knew Professor Umbridge was there.

"That will do," she said and silence fell immediately. "Mr. Finnigan, kindly come here and hand back the homework — Miss Brown, please take this box of mice — don't be silly, girl, they won't hurt you — and hand one to each student —"

" Hem, hem, " said Professor Umbridge, employing the same silly little cough she had used to interrupt Dumbledore on the first night of term. Professor McGonagall ignored her. Seamus handed back Harry's essay; Harry took it without looking at him and saw, to his relief, that he had managed an A.

"Right then, everyone, listen closely — Dean Thomas, if you do that to the mouse again I shall put you in detention — most of you have now successfully vanished your snails and even those who were left with a certain amount of shell have the gist of the spell. Today we shall be —"

" Hem, hem, " said Professor Umbridge.

"Yes?" said Professor McGonagall, turning round, her eyebrows so close together they seemed to form one long, severe line. "I was just wondering, Professor, whether you received my note telling you of the date and time of your inspec —"

"Obviously I received it, or I would have asked you what you are doing in my classroom," said Professor McGonagall, turning her back firmly on Professor Umbridge. Many of the students exchanged looks of glee. "As I was saying, today we shall be practicing the altogether more difficult vanishment of mice. Now, the Vanishing Spell —"

"Hem, hem." Once again Umbridge said interrupting Professor McGonagall.

"I wonder," said Professor McGonagall in cold fury, turning on Professor Umbridge, "how you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk when I am talking." Professor Umbridge looked as though she had just been slapped in the face. She did not speak, but straightened the parchment on her clipboard and began scribbling furiously. Looking supremely unconcerned, Professor McGonagall addressed the class once more. "As I was saying, the Vanishing Spell becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be vanished. The snail, as an invertebrate, does not present much of a challenge; the mouse, as a mammal, offers a much greater one. This is not, therefore, magic you can accomplish with your mind on your dinner. So — you know the incantation, let me see what you can do.…"

"How she can lecture me about not losing my temper with Umbridge!" Harry said to Ron under his voice, but he was grinning; his anger with Professor McGonagall had quite evaporated. Professor Umbridge did not follow Professor McGonagall around the class as she had followed Professor Trelawney; perhaps she thought that Professor McGonagall would not permit it. She did, however, take many more notes while she sat in her corner, and when Professor McGonagall finally told them all to pack away, rose with a grim expression on her face.

"Well, it's a start," said Ron, holding up a long, wriggling mouse tail and dropping it back into the box Lavender was passing around. As they filed out of the classroom, Harry saw Professor Umbridge approach the teacher's desk; he nudged Ron, who nudged Hermione in turn, and the three of them deliberately fell back to eavesdrop.

"How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" Professor Umbridge asked. "Thirty-nine years this December," said Professor McGonagall brusquely, snapping her bag shut. Professor Umbridge made a note. "Very well," she said, "you will receive the results of your inspection in ten days' time."

"I can hardly wait," said Professor McGonagall in a coldly indifferent voice, and she strode off toward the door. "Hurry up, you three," she added, sweeping Harry, Ron, and Hermione before her. Harry could not help giving her a faint smile and could have sworn he received one in return.

He had thought that the next time he would see Umbridge would be in his detention that evening, but he was wrong. When they walked down the lawns toward the forest for Care of Magical Creatures, they found her and her clipboard waiting for them beside Professor Grubbly-Plank. "You do not usually take this class, is that correct?" Harry heard her ask as they arrived at the trestle table where the group of captive bowtruckles were scrambling around for wood lice like so many living twigs. "Quite correct," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, hands behind her back and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I am a substitute teacher standing in for Professor Hagrid." Harry exchanged uneasy looks with Ron and Hermione. Malfoy was whispering with Crabbe and Goyle; he would surely love this opportunity to tell tales on Hagrid to a member of the Ministry.

"Hmm," said Professor Umbridge, dropping her voice, though Harry could still hear her quite clearly, "I wonder — the headmaster seems strangely reluctant to give me any information on the matter — can you tell me what is causing Professor Hagrid's very extended leave of absence?" Harry saw Malfoy look up eagerly. " 'Fraid I can't," said Professor Grubbly-Plank breezily. "Don't know anything more about it than you do. Got an owl from Dumbledore, would I like a couple of weeks teaching work, accepted — that's as much as I know. Well … shall I get started then?"

"Yes, please do," said Professor Umbridge, scribbling upon her clipboard.

Umbridge took a different tack in this class and wandered among the students, questioning them on magical creatures. Most people were able to answer well and Harry's spirits lifted somewhat; at least the class was not letting Hagrid down. "Overall," said Professor Umbridge, returning to Professor Grubbly-Plank's side after a lengthy interrogation of Dean Thomas, "how do you, as a temporary member of staff — an objective outsider, I suppose you might say — how do you find Hogwarts? Do you feel you receive enough support from the school management?"

"Oh, yes, Dumbledore's excellent," said Professor Grubbly-Plank heartily. "No, I'm very happy with the way things are run, very happy indeed." Looking politely incredulous, Umbridge made a tiny note on her clipboard and went on, "And what are you planning to cover with this class this year — assuming, of course, that Professor Hagrid does not return?"

"Oh, I'll take them through the creatures that most often come up in O.W.L.," said Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Not much left to do — they've studied unicorns and nifflers, I thought we'd cover porlocks and kneazles, make sure they can recognize crups and knarls, you know. … "

"Well, you seem to know what you're doing, at any rate," said Professor Umbridge, making a very obvious tick on her clipboard. Harry did not like the emphasis she put on "you" and liked it even less when she put her next question to Goyle: "Now, I hear there have been injuries in this class?" Goyle gave a stupid grin. Malfoy hastened to answer the question. "That was me," he said. "I was slashed by a hippogriff."

"A hippogriff?" said Professor Umbridge, now scribbling frantically. "Only because he was too stupid to listen to what Hagrid told him to do," said Harry angrily. Both Ron and Hermione groaned. Professor Umbridge turned her head slowly in Harry's direction. "Another night's detention, I think," she said softly. "Well, thank you very much, Professor Grubbly-Plank, I think that's all I need here. You will be receiving the results of your inspection within ten days."

"Jolly good," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, and Professor Umbridge set off back across the lawn to the castle.

~After Detention~

Ron, Hermione, Ayame and Zero were waiting in the common room for Harry to arrive. In this two days of detention Harry had to meditate to gain complete control over his powers. Zero was outstanded when he learned that the teen could wield so much power. Since the ravenet was in detention Kaname had made him keep to meditation for the meanwhile before going to bed. Zero and Ayame were the first to smell the scent of blood coming from the emerald eyed pureblood teen. Ayame's eyes twitch with contentment while Zero cursed inwardly.

"I'd never thought I'll say this, but, you blood suckers never made me as enrage as that toad woman just made me. Not even that bastard Kuran." Zero said fuming. "I truly hate that toad face woman!"

"Zero-kun, calm down, though I know how you feel right now (for I am feeling the same thing right now) we can't just go and do whatever we want." Ayame said. "Harry, love come here so I can treat your wound." By the time Ayame had finished treating the wound it was already completely healed.

"She's an awful woman," said Hermione in a small voice. " Awful. You know, I was just saying to Ron when you came in … we've got to do something about her."

"I suggested poison," said Ron grimly. "No … I mean, something about what a dreadful teacher she is, and how we're not going to learn any defence from her at all," said Hermione.

"Well, what can we do about that?" said Ron, yawning. " 'S too late, isn't it? She got the job, she's here to stay, Fudge'll make sure of that."

"Well," said Hermione tentatively. "You know, I was thinking today. …" She shot a slightly nervous look at Harry and then plunged on, "I was thinking that — maybe the time's come when we should just — just do it ourselves."

"Do what ourselves?" said Harry suspiciously, still floating his hand in the essence of murtlap tentacles. "Well — learn Defence Against the Dark Arts ourselves," said Hermione. "Come off it," groaned Ron. "You want us to do extra work? D'you realize Harry and I are behind on homework again and it's only the second week?"

"But this is much more important than homework!" said Hermione. Harry and Ron goggled at her. "I didn't think there was anything in the universe more important than homework," said Ron.

"Don't be silly, of course there is!" said Hermione, and Harry saw, with an ominous feeling, that her face was suddenly alight with the kind of fervour that S.P.E.W. usually inspired in her. "It's about preparing ourselves, like Harry said in Umbridge's first lesson, for what's waiting out there. It's about making sure we really can defend ourselves. If we don't learn anything for a whole year —"

"We can't do much by ourselves," said Ron in a defeated voice. "I mean, all right, we can go and look jinxes up in the library and try and practice them, I suppose —"

"No, I agree, we've gone past the stage where we can just learn things out of books," said Hermione. "We need a teacher, a proper one, who can show us how to use the spells and correct us if we're going wrong."

"If you're talking about Lupin …" Harry began. "No, no, I'm not talking about Lupin," said Hermione. "He's too busy with the Order and anyway, the most we could see him is during Hogsmead weekends and that's not nearly often enough."

"Who, then?" said Harry, frowning at her. Hermione heaved a very deep sigh. "Isn't it obvious?" she said. "I'm talking about you , Harry." There was a moment's silence. A light night breeze rattled the windowpanes behind Ron and the fire guttered. "About me what?" said Harry. "I'm talking about you teaching us Defence Against the Dark Arts." Harry stared at her. Then he turned to Ron, ready to exchange the exasperated looks they sometimes shared when Hermione elaborated on far-fetched schemes like S.P.E.W. To Harry's consternation, however, Ron did not look exasperated. He was frowning slightly, apparently thinking. Then he said, "That's an idea." "What's an idea?" said Harry. "You," said Ron. "Teaching us to do it."

"But …" Harry was grinning now, sure the pair of them were pulling his leg. "But I'm not a teacher, I can't —"

"Harry, you're the best in the year at Defence Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione. "Me?" said Harry, now grinning more broadly than ever. "No I'm not, you've beaten me in every test —"

"Actually, I haven't," said Hermione coolly. "You beat me in our third year — the only year we both sat the test and had a teacher who actually knew the subject. But I'm not talking about test results, Harry. Look what you've done !"

"How d'you mean?" asked Harry.

"You know what, I'm not sure I want someone this stupid teaching me," Ron said to Hermione, smirking slightly. He turned to Harry. "Let's think," he said, pulling a face like Goyle concentrating. "Uh … first year — you saved the Stone from You-Know-Who."

"But that was luck," said Harry, "that wasn't skill —"

"Second year," Ron interrupted, "you killed the basilisk and destroyed Riddle."

"Yeah, but if Fawkes hadn't turned up I —"

"Third year," said Ron, louder still, "you fought off about a hundred dementors at once-"

"You know that was a fluke, if the Time-Turner hadn't —"

"Last year," Ron said, almost shouting now, "you fought off You-Know-Who again —" "Listen to me!" said Harry, almost angrily, because Ron and Hermione were both smirking now. "Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck — I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help —" Ron and Hermione were still smirking and Harry felt his temper rise; he wasn't even sure why he was feeling so angry. "Don't sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn't I?" he said heatedly. "I know what went on, all right? And I didn't get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defence Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because — because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right — but I just blundered through it all, I didn't have a clue what I was doing — STOP LAUGHING!" As Harry yelled his eyes became slightly red from anger as well as blood loss.

"You don't know what it's like! You — neither of you — you've never had to face him, have you? You think it's just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something? The whole time you know there's nothing between you and dying except your own — your own brain or guts or whatever — like you can think straight when you know you're about a second from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die — they've never taught us that in their classes, what it's like to deal with things like that — and you two sit there acting like I'm a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up — you just don't get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn't needed me —"

"We weren't saying anything like that, mate," said Ron, looking aghast. "We weren't having a go at Diggory, we didn't — you've got the wrong end of the —" He looked helplessly at Hermione, whose face was stricken. "Harry," she said timidly, "don't you see? This … this is exactly why we need you. … We need to know what it's r-really like … facing him … facing V- Voldemort." It was the first time she had ever said Voldemort's name, and it was this, more than anything else, that calmed Harry. "Well … think about it," said Hermione quietly. "Please?"

Harry could not think of anything to say. He was feeling ashamed of his outburst already. He nodded, hardly aware of what he was agreeing to. Hermione stood up. "Well, I'm off to bed," she said in a voice that was clearly as natural as she could make it. "Erm … 'night." Ron had gotten to his feet too. "Coming?" he said awkwardly to Harry. "Yeah," said Harry. "In … in a minute."

Harry turned to his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her waist. Ron had already gone to bed with Zero behind his heels. Ayame wrapped her arms around her soulmate's upper back and neck. She had noticed that Harry's eyes now have become completely blood red. Tilting her head to the side she gave the raven hear teen access to her neck so that he could drink some of her blood. After two mouthfuls of blood Harry lapped at the wound to sill it and kiss the young pureblood brunet on the lips. After that he was suddenly so tired that he was tempted to sink back into his armchair and sleep there, but instead he got to his feet and followed Ayame upstairs. His restless night was punctuated once more by dreams of long corridors and locked doors, and he awoke next day with his scar prickling again.

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A/N: Hello guys. Hope you like this chapter since it's going to be the last for a while. I'm starting my fourth year in the University and I need to concentrate on my studies if I want to be something in the near future. I promise I'll keep on with this story even if no-one likes it (after all is a hobby of mine to scape the living hell I'm going through right now in my parents house). I'll update when I can, I promise! Hope your enjoying this story! Until next time and Happy New Year to every one!


	10. Reunion in a Hogsmeade Pub

A/N: Hello everyone. Sorry for not updating in a while, my life has become a mess as of late with the University and personal/emotional problems. I hope you all like this chapter and I'll try to give you another chapter soon enough. Also I'll be needing a beta-reader for this story. If you have the time to help me with this story, I'll definitely appreciate it. Feel free to PM me if you want to help me with the story. ;)

A/N:PS: I was asked in a review if Sirius was going to die in this story. The answer is NO I do not plan to kill poor Sirius. I love him way to much for killing the poor dog animagus. The thought of killing him is preposterous and I'm actually mad at Rowling-sensei for killing him. So no, he'll survive the ordeal.

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 **Chapter 10: Reunion in Hogsmeade Pub**

Hermione made no mention of Harry giving Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons for two whole weeks after her original suggestion. Harry's detentions with Umbridge were finally over (he doubted whether the words now etched on the back of his hand would ever fade entirely); Ron had had four more Quidditch practices and not been shouted at during the last two; and all three of them had managed to vanish their mice in Transfiguration (Hermione had actually progressed to vanishing kittens), before the subject was broached again, on a wild, blustery evening at the end of September, when the three of them were sitting in the library, looking up potion ingredients for Snape.

"I was wondering," Hermione said suddenly, "whether you'd thought any more about Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry."

"'Course I have," said Harry grumpily. "Can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us —"

"I meant the idea Ron and I had" — Ron cast her an alarmed, threatening kind of look; she frowned at him — "oh, all right, the idea I had, then — about you teaching us."

Harry did not answer at once. He pretended to be perusing a page of Asiatic Anti-Venoms, because he did not want to say what was in his mind. The fact was that he had given the matter a great deal of thought over the past fortnight. Sometimes it seemed an insane idea, just as it had on the night Hermione had proposed it, but at others, he had found himself thinking about the spells that had served him best in his various encounters with Dark creatures and Death Eaters — found himself, in fact, subconsciously planning lessons. …

"Well," he said slowly, when he could not pretend to find Asiatic anti-venoms interesting much longer, "yeah, I — I've thought about it a bit."

"And?" said Hermione eagerly.

"I dunno," said Harry, playing for time. He looked up at Ron.

"I thought it was a good idea from the start," said Ron, who seemed keener to join in this conversation now that he was sure that Harry was not going to start shouting again.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "You did listen to what I said about a load of it being luck, didn't you?"

"Yes, Harry," said Hermione gently, "but all the same, there's no point pretending that you're not good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, because you are. You were the only person last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't, Viktor always said —"

Ron looked around at her so fast he appeared to crick his neck; rubbing it, he said, "Yeah? What did Vicky say?"

"Ho, ho," said Hermione in a bored voice. "He said Harry knew how to do stuff even he didn't, and he was in the final year at Durmstrang."

Ron was looking at Hermione suspiciously. "You're not still in contact with him, are you?"

"So what if I am?" said Hermione coolly, though her face was a little pink. "I can have a pen pal if I —"

"He didn't only want to be your pen pal," said Ron accusingly.

Hermione shook her head exasperatedly and, ignoring Ron, who was continuing to watch her, said to Harry, "Well, what do you think? Will you teach us?"

"Just you and Ron, yeah?" Harry asks.

"Well," said Hermione, now looking a mite anxious again. "Well … now, don't fly off the handle again, Harry, please. … But I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort — oh, don't be pathetic, Ron — it doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people."

Harry considered this for a moment, then said, "Yeah, but I doubt anyone except you two would want to be taught by me. I'm a nutter, remember?"

"Well, I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in hearing what you've got to say," said Hermione seriously. "Look," she leaned toward him; Ron, who was still watching her with a frown on his face, leaned forward to listen too, "you know the first weekend in October's a Hogsmeade weekend? How would it be if we tell anyone who's interested to meet us in the village and we can talk it over?"

"Why do we have to do it outside school?" said Ron.

"Because," said Hermione, returning to the diagram of the Chinese Chomping Cabbage she was copying, "I don't think Umbridge would be very happy if she found out what we were up to."

Harry had been looking forward to the weekend trip into Hogsmeade, but there was one thing worrying him. Sirius had maintained a stony silence since he had appeared in the fire at the beginning of September; Harry knew they had made him angry by saying that they did not want him to come — but he still worried from time to time that Sirius might throw caution to the winds and turn up anyway. What were they going to do if the great black dog came bounding up the street toward them in Hogsmeade, perhaps under the nose of Draco Malfoy?

"Well, you can't blame him for wanting to get out and about," said Ron, when Harry discussed his fears with him and Hermione. "I mean, he's been on the run for over two years, hasn't he, and I know that can't have been a laugh, but at least he was free, wasn't he? And now he's just shut up all the time with that lunatic elf."

Hermione scowled at Ron, but otherwise ignored the slight on Kreacher. "The trouble is," she said to Harry, "until V-Voldemort — oh for heaven's sake, Ron — comes out into the open, Sirius is going to have to stay hidden, isn't he? I mean, the stupid Ministry isn't going to realize Sirius is innocent until they accept that Dumbledore's been telling the truth about him all along. And once the fools start catching real Death Eaters again it'll be obvious Sirius isn't one … I mean, he hasn't got the Mark, for one thing."

"I don't reckon he'd be stupid enough to turn up," said Ron bracingly. "Dumbledore'd go mad if he did and Sirius listens to Dumbledore even if he doesn't like what he hears."

When Harry continued to look worried, Hermione said, "Listen, Ron and I have been sounding out people who we thought might want to learn some proper Defense Against the Dark Arts, and there are a couple who seem interested. We've told them to meet us in Hogsmeade."

"Right," said Harry vaguely, his mind still on Sirius.

"Don't worry, Harry," Hermione said quietly. "You've got enough on your plate without Sirius too."

The morning of the Hogsmeade visit dawned bright but windy. After breakfast they queued up in front of Filch, who matched their names to the long list of students who had permission from their parents or guardian to visit the village. With a slight pang, Harry remembered that if it hadn't been for Sirius, he would not have been going at all. Ayame and the other vampires were right by his side talking to one-another in a companionable way.

When Harry reached Filch, the caretaker gave a great sniff as though trying to detect a whiff of something from Harry. Then he gave a curt nod that set his jowls aquiver again and Harry walked on, out onto the stone steps and the cold, sunlit day.

"Er — why was Filch sniffing you?" asked Ron, as he, Harry, the other vampires and Hermione set off at a brisk pace down the wide drive to the gates.

"I suppose he was checking for the smell of Dungbombs," said Harry with a small laugh. "I forgot to tell you …" And he recounted the story of sending his letter to Sirius and Filch bursting in seconds later, demanding to see the letter. To his slight surprise, Hermione found this story highly interesting, much more, indeed, than he did himself.

"He said he was tipped off you were ordering Dungbombs? But who had tipped him off?" asked Takuma Ichijou.

"I dunno," said Harry, shrugging. "Maybe Malfoy, he'd think it was a laugh."

They walked between the tall stone pillars topped with winged boars and turned left onto the road into the village, the wind whipping their hair into their eyes.

"Malfoy?" said Hermione, very skeptically. "Well … yes … maybe …" And she remained deep in thought all the way into the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

"Where are we going anyway?" Harry asked. "The Three Broomsticks?"

"Oh — no," said Hermione, coming out of her reverie, "no, it's always packed and really noisy. I've told the others to meet us in the Hog's Head, that other pub, you know the one, it's not on the main road. I think it's a bit … you know … dodgy … but students don't normally go in there, so I don't think we'll be overheard and besides we have the vampires here with us as allies."

They walked down the main street past Zonko's Joke Shop, where they were unsurprised to see Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, past the post office, from which owls issued at regular intervals, and turned up a side street at the top of which stood a small inn. A battered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture upon it of a wild boar's severed head leaking blood onto the white cloth around it. The sign creaked in the wind as they approached. Hermione and Ron hesitated outside the door.

"Well, this is a lovely place," replied Hanabusa Idou with a frown.

"Says you," retorted Ruka Souen in a sarcastic way. In a second the only thing that you could hear was the two vampires fighting with each other, that is until a very pissed off pure-blood king lashed at them to 'stop it' and hurry up inside.

"Well, come on," said Hermione slightly nervously. Harry led the way inside.

It was not at all like the Three Broomsticks, whose large bar gave an impression of gleaming warmth and cleanliness. The Hog's Head bar comprised one small, dingy, and very dirty room that smelled strongly of something that might have been goats. The bay windows were so encrusted with grime that very little daylight could permeate the room, which was lit instead with the stubs of candles sitting on rough wooden tables. The floor seemed at first glance to be earthy, though as Harry stepped onto it he realized that there was stone beneath what seemed to be the accumulated filth of centuries.

Harry remembered Hagrid mentioning this pub in his first year: "Yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head," he had said, explaining how he had won a dragons' egg from a hooded stranger there. At the time Harry had wondered why Hagrid had not found it odd that the stranger kept his face hidden throughout their encounter; now he saw that keeping your face hidden was something of a fashion in the Hog's Head. There was a man at the bar whose whole head was wrapped in dirty gray bandages, though he was still managing to gulp endless glasses of some smoking, fiery substance through a slit over his mouth. Two figures shrouded in hoods sat at a table in one of the windows; Harry might have thought them dementors if they had not been talking in strong Yorkshire accents; in a shadowy corner beside the fireplace sat a witch with a thick, black veil that fell to her toes. They could just see the tip of her nose because it caused the veil to protrude slightly.

"I don't know about this, Hermione," Harry muttered, as they crossed to the bar. He was looking particularly at the heavily veiled witch. "Has it occurred to you Umbridge might be under that?"

Hermione cast an appraising eye at the veiled figure. "Umbridge is shorter than that woman," she said quietly. "And anyway, even if Umbridge does come in here there's nothing she can do to stop us, Harry, because I've double- and triple-checked the school rules. We're not out-of-bounds; I specifically asked Professor Flitwick whether students were allowed to come in the Hog's Head, and he said yes, but he advised me strongly to bring our own glasses. And I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed. I just don't think it's a good idea if we parade what we're doing."

"No," said Harry dryly, "especially as it's not exactly a homework group you're planning, is it?" The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long gray hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry.

"What?" he grunted.

"Do you want something, guys?" asked Harry to everyone. All of the vampires just shook their heads 'no'.

"Three butterbeers for us then, please," said Hermione.

The man reached beneath the counter and pulled up three very dusty, very dirty bottles, which he slammed on the bar. "Six Sickles," he said.

"I'll get them," said Harry quickly, passing over the silver. The barman's eyes traveled over Harry, resting for a fraction of a second on his scar. Then he turned away and deposited Harry's money in an ancient wooden till whose drawer slid open automatically to receive it. Harry, Ron, and Hermione retreated to the farthest table from the bar and sat down, looking around, while the man in the dirty gray bandages rapped the counter with his knuckles and received another smoking drink from the barman.

"You know what?" Ron murmured, looking over at the bar with enthusiasm. "We could order anything we liked in here, I bet that bloke would sell us anything, he wouldn't care. I've always wanted to try firewhisky —"

"You — are — a — prefect," snarled Hermione.

"Oh," said Ron, the smile fading from his face. "Yeah …"

"So who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?" Harry asked, wrenching open the rusty top of his butterbeer and taking a swig.

"Just a couple of people," Hermione repeated, checking her watch and then looking anxiously toward the door. "I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is — oh look, this might be them now —"

The door of the pub had opened. A thick band of dusty sunlight split the room in two for a moment and then vanished, blocked by the incoming rush of a crowd of people. First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with Cho and one of her usually giggling girlfriends, then (on her own and looking so dreamy that she might have walked in by accident) Luna Lovegood; then Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and a Hufflepuff girl with a long plait down her back whose name Harry did not know; three Ravenclaw boys he was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot; Ginny, followed by a tall skinny blond boy with an upturned nose whom Harry recognized vaguely as being a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and bringing up the rear, Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordan, all three of whom were carrying large paper bags crammed with Zonko's merchandise.

"A couple of people?" said Harry hoarsely to Hermione. " _A couple of people_?"

"Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular," said Hermione happily. "Ron, do you want to pull up some more chairs?"

The barman had frozen in the act of wiping out a glass with a rag so filthy it looked as though it had never been washed. Possibly he had never seen his pub so full.

"Hi," said Fred, reaching the bar first and counting his companions quickly. "Could we have … twenty-five butterbeers, please?"

The barman glared at him for a moment, then, throwing down his rag irritably as though he had been interrupted in something very important, he started passing up dusty butterbeers from under the bar.

"Cheers," said Fred, handing them out. "Cough up, everyone, I haven't got enough gold for all of these. …"

Harry watched numbly as the large chattering group took their beers from Fred and rummaged in their robes to find coins. He could not imagine what all these people had turned up for until the horrible thought occurred to him that they might be expecting some kind of speech, at which he rounded on Hermione. "What have you been telling people?" he said in a low voice. "What are they expecting?"

"I've told you, they just want to hear what you've got to say," said Hermione soothingly; but Harry continued to look at her so furiously that she added quickly, "You don't have to do anything yet, I'll speak to them first."

"Hi, Harry," said Neville, beaming and taking a seat opposite Harry. Harry tried to smile back, but did not speak; his mouth was exceptionally dry. Cho had just smiled at him and sat down on Ron's right. Her friend, who had curly reddish-blonde hair, did not smile, but gave Harry a thoroughly mistrustful look that told Harry plainly that, given her way, she would not be here at all. In twos and threes, the new arrivals settled around the vampires, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, some looking rather excited, others curious, Luna Lovegood gazing dreamily into space. When everybody had pulled up a chair, the chatter died out. Every eye was upon Harry.

"Er," said Hermione, her voice slightly higher than usual out of nerves. "Well — er — hi." The group focused its attention on her instead, though eyes continued to dart back regularly to Harry. "Well … erm … well, you know why you're here. Erm … well, Harry here had the idea — I mean" — Harry had thrown her a sharp look — "I had the idea — that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts — and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us" — (Hermione's voice became suddenly much stronger and more confident) — "because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts" — "Hear, hear," said Anthony Goldstein, and Hermione looked heartened — "well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands." She paused, looked sideways at Harry, and went on, "And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells —"

"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" said Michael Corner.

"Of course I do," said Hermione at once. "But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained in Defense because … because …" She took a great breath and finished, "Because Lord Voldemort's back." The reaction was immediate and predictable. Cho's friend shrieked and slopped butterbeer down herself, Terry Boot gave a kind of involuntary twitch, Padma Patil shuddered, and Neville gave an odd yelp that he managed to turn into a cough. All of them, however, looked fixedly, even eagerly, at Harry. "Well … that's the plan anyway," said Hermione. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to —"

"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" said the blond Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive voice.

"Well, Dumbledore believes it —" Hermione began.

"You mean, Dumbledore believes _him_ ," said the blond boy, nodding at Harry. Ayame makes an involuntary hissing sound at the blond but stops after seeing her lover motion for her to stop.

"Who are _you_?" said Ron rather rudely.

"Zacharias Smith," said the boy, "and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."

"Look," said Hermione, intervening swiftly, "that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about —"

"It's okay, Hermione, Ron, Ayame," said Harry. It had just dawned upon him why there were so many people there. He felt that Hermione should have seen this coming. Some of these people — maybe even most of them — had turned up in the hope of hearing Harry's story firsthand.

"What makes me say You-Know-Who's back?" he asked, looking Zacharias straight in the face. "I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."

The whole group seemed to have held its breath while Harry spoke. Harry had the impression that even the barman was listening in. He was wiping the same glass with the filthy rag; it was becoming steadily dirtier.

Zacharias said dismissively, "All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know —"

"If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone I can't help you," Harry said. His temper, always so close to the surface these days, was rising again. He did not take his eyes from Zacharias Smith's aggressive face, determined not to look at Cho. "I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out." Harry's eyes were beginning to take a tint of red in them by the time he finished, his fangs lengthening as well in his outburst. The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees as well.

He cast an angry look in Hermione's direction. This was, he felt, all her fault; she had decided to display him like some sort of freak and of course they had all turned up to see just how wild his story was. … But none of them left their seats, not even Zacharias Smith, though he continued to gaze intently at Harry.

"So," said Hermione, her voice very high-pitched again. "So … like I was saying … if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to —"

"Is it true," interrupted the girl with the long plait down her back, looking at Harry, "that you can produce a Patronus?" There was a murmur of interest around the group at this.

"Yeah," said Harry slightly defensively.

"A corporeal Patronus?" The phrase stirred something in Harry's memory.

"Er — you don't know Madam Bones, do you?" he asked. The girl smiled.

"She's my auntie," she said. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So — is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"Blimey, Harry!" said Lee, looking deeply impressed. "I never knew that!"

"Mum told Ron not to spread it around," said Fred, grinning at Harry. "She said you got enough attention as it was."

"She's not wrong," mumbled Harry and a couple of people laughed. The veiled witch sitting alone shifted very slightly in her seat.

"And did you kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" demanded Terry Boot. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in 'there' last year. …"

"Er — yeah, I did, yeah," said Harry.

Justin Finch-Fletchley whistled, the Creevey brothers exchanged awestruck looks, and Lavender Brown said "wow" softly. Harry was feeling slightly hot around the collar now; he was determinedly looking anywhere but at the other vampires especially, Ayame, that looked at him in awe.

"And in our first year," said Neville to the group at large, "he saved that Sorcerous Stone —"

"Sorcerer's," hissed Hermione.

"Yes, that, from You-Know-Who," finished Neville. Hannah Abbott's eyes were as round as Galleons.

"And that's not to mention," said Cho (Harry's eyes snapped onto her, she was looking at him, smiling), "all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year — getting past dragons and merpeople and acromantulas and things. …"

There was a murmur of impressed agreement around the table. Harry's insides were squirming. He was trying to arrange his face so that he did not look too pleased with himself.

"Look," he said and everyone fell silent at once, "I … I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything, but … I had a lot of help with all that stuff. …"

"Not with the dragon, you didn't," said Michael Corner at once. "That was a seriously cool bit of flying. …"

"Yeah, well —" said Harry, feeling it would be churlish to disagree.

"And nobody helped you get rid of those dementors this summer," said Susan Bones.

"No," said Harry, "no, okay, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying to make is —"

"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" said Zacharias Smith.

"Here's an idea," said Ron loudly, before Harry could speak, "why don't you shut your mouth?"

Perhaps the word "weasel" had affected Ron particularly strongly; in any case, he was now looking at Zacharias as though he would like nothing better than to thump him. Zacharias flushed. All the while the vampires have been eyeing the interaction between the others without saying anything. They were certainly in awe with Harry's powers from before his awakening for now all of the vampires knew that the teenage boy was a pureblood descendant.

"Well, we've all turned up to learn from him, and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it," he said.

"That's not what he said," snarled Fred Weasley.

"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" inquired George, pulling a long and lethal-looking metal instrument from inside one of the Zonko's bags.

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this," said Fred.

"Yes, well," said Hermione hastily, "moving on … the point is, are we agreed we want to take lessons from Harry?" There was a murmur of general agreement. Zacharias folded his arms and said nothing, though perhaps this was because he was too busy keeping an eye on the instrument in George's hand. "Right," said Hermione, looking relieved that something had at last been settled. "Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week —"

"Hang on," said Angelina, "we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice."

"No," said Cho, "nor with ours."

"Nor ours," added Zacharias Smith.

"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," said Hermione, slightly impatiently, "but you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters —"

"Well said!" barked Ernie Macmillan, whom Harry had been expecting to speak long before this. "Personally I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we'll do this year, even with our O.W.L.s coming up!" He looked around impressively, as though waiting for people to cry, "Surely not!" When nobody spoke, he went on, "I, personally, am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher upon us at this critical period. Obviously they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells —"

"We think the reason Umbridge doesn't want us trained in Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione, "is that she's got some … some mad idea that Dumbledore could use the students in the school as a kind of private army. She thinks he'd mobilize us against the Ministry."

Nearly everybody looked stunned at this news; everybody except Luna Lovegood, who piped up, "Well, that makes sense. After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army."

"What?" said Harry, completely thrown by this unexpected piece of information.

"Yes, he's got an army of heliopaths," said Luna solemnly.

"No, he hasn't," snapped Hermione.

"Yes, he has," said Luna.

"What are heliopaths?" asked Neville, looking blank.

"They're spirits of fire," said Luna, her protuberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever. "Great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of —"

"They don't exist, Neville," said Hermione tartly.

"Oh, I beg to differ," said Hanabusa Idou. "They do exist."

"See, I'm telling you the truth," said Luna angrily.

"I'm sorry, but where's the _proof_ of that?" snapped Hermione.

"There are plenty of eyewitness accounts, just because you're so narrow-minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you —" Luna tried again.

" _Hem, hem_ ," said Ginny in such a good imitation of Professor Umbridge that several people looked around in alarm and then laughed. "Weren't we trying to decide how often we're going to meet and get Defense lessons?"

"Yes," said Hermione at once, "yes, we were, you're right. …"

"Well, once a week sounds cool," said Lee Jordan.

"As long as —" began Angelina.

"Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch," said Hermione in a tense voice. "Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet. …"

This was rather more difficult; the whole group fell silent. "Library?" suggested Katie Bell after a few moments.

"I can't see Madam Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes in the library," said Harry.

"Maybe an unused classroom?" said Dean.

"Yeah," said Ron, "McGonagall might let us have hers, she did when Harry was practicing for the Triwizard. …" But Harry was pretty certain that McGonagall would not be so accommodating this time. For all that Hermione had said about study and homework groups being allowed, he had the distinct feeling this one might be considered a lot more rebellious. Harry looks at the other vampires for a brief second asking them to not mention the ROR to them yet and that he needed to talk to them later on alone.

"Right, well, we'll try to find somewhere," said Hermione. "We'll send a message round to everybody when we've got a time and a place for the first meeting." She rummaged in her bag and produced parchment and a quill, then hesitated, rather as though she was steeling herself to say something. "I-I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think," she took a deep breath, "that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge — or anybody else — what we're up to." Fred reached out for the parchment and cheerfully put down his signature, but Harry noticed at once that several people looked less than happy at the prospect of putting their names on the list.

"Er …" said Zacharias slowly, not taking the parchment that George was trying to pass him. "Well … I'm sure Ernie will tell me when the meeting is." But Ernie was looking rather hesitant about signing too. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.

"I — well, we are _prefects_ ," Ernie burst out. "And if this list was found … well, I mean to say … you said yourself, if Umbridge finds out …"

"You just said this group was the most important thing you'd do this year," Harry reminded him.

"I — yes," said Ernie, "yes, I do believe that, it's just …"

"Ernie, do you really think I'd leave that list lying around?" said Hermione testily.

"No. No, of course not," said Ernie, looking slightly less anxious. "I — yes, of course I'll sign." Nobody raised objections after Ernie, though Harry saw Cho's friend give her a rather reproachful look before adding her name. When the last person — Zacharias — had signed, Hermione took the parchment back and slipped it carefully into her bag. There was an odd feeling in the group now. It was as though they had just signed some kind of contract.

"Well, time's ticking on," said Fred briskly, getting to his feet. "George, Lee, and I have got items of a sensitive nature to purchase, we'll be seeing you all later." In twos and threes, the rest of the group took their leave too. Cho made rather a business of fastening the catch on her bag before leaving, her long dark curtain of hair swinging forward to hide her face, but her friend stood beside her, arms folded, clicking her tongue, so that Cho had little choice but to leave with her. As her friend ushered her through the door, Cho looked back and waved at Harry.

"Well, I think that went quite well," said Hermione happily, as the vampires, she, Harry, and Ron walked out of the Hog's Head into the bright sunlight a few moments later, Harry and Ron still clutching their bottles of butterbeer.

"That Zacharias bloke's a wart," said Ron, who was glowering after the figure of Smith just discernible in the distance.

"I don't like him much either," admitted Hermione, "but he overheard me talking to Ernie and Hannah at the Hufflepuff table and he seemed really interested in coming, so what could I say? But the more people the better really — I mean, Michael Corner and his friends wouldn't have come if he hadn't been going out with Ginny —" Ron, who had been draining the last few drops from his butterbeer bottle, gagged and sprayed butterbeer down his front.

"He's WHAT?" said Ron, outraged, his ears now resembling curls of raw beef. "She's going out with — my sister's going — what d'you mean, Michael Corner?"

"Well, that's why he and his friends came, I think — well, they're obviously interested in learning defense, but if Ginny hadn't told Michael what was going on —"

"When did this — when did she —?"

"They met at the Yule Ball and they got together at the end of last year," said Hermione composedly. They had turned into the High Street and she paused outside Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, where there was a handsome display of pheasant-feather quills in the window. "Hmm … I could do with a new quill."

She turned into the shop. Harry, Ron and the others followed her.

"Which one was Michael Corner?" Ron demanded furiously.

"The dark one," said Hermione.

"I didn't like him," said Ron at once.

"Big surprise," said Hermione under her breath.

"But," said Ron, following Hermione along a row of quills in copper pots, "I thought Ginny fancied Harry!"

Hermione looked at him rather pityingly and shook her head. "Ginny used to fancy Harry, but she gave up on him months ago. Not that she doesn't like you, of course," she added kindly to Harry while she examined a long black-and-gold quill.

Harry sighs in frustrated resignation. He knew that things like this would only happen to him. Too bad for Ginny, he was already committed to his mate, who he will never live behind. After all he was a pureblood vampire now and she was but a mortal bound to die in the end while he is an immortal being. He felt for Ron though, since he would never be a part of their family (by marrying his sister) in the end. He gave Ron a pitying look. Harry, did not find this subject quite as interesting as Ron, who was positively quivering with indignation, but it did bring something home to him that until now he had not really registered.

"So that's why she talks now?" he asked Hermione. "She never used to talk in front of me."

"Exactly," said Hermione. "Yes, I think I'll have this one. …" She went up to the counter and handed over fifteen Sickles and two Knuts, Ron still breathing down her neck.

"Ron," she said severely as she turned and trod on his feet, "this is exactly why Ginny hasn't told you she's seeing Michael, she knew you'd take it badly. So don't harp on about it, for heaven's sake."

"What d'you mean, who's taking anything badly? I'm not going to harp on about anything …"

Ron continued to chunter under his breath all the way down the street. Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry and then said in an undertone, while Ron was muttering imprecations about Michael Corner, "And talking about Michael and Ginny … what about Ayame and you?"

"What d'you mean?" said Harry quickly. It was as though boiling water was rising rapidly inside him; a burning sensation that was causing his face too smart in the cold — had he been that obvious?

"Well," said Hermione, smiling slightly, "she just couldn't keep her eyes off you, could she?" Harry had never before appreciated just how beautiful the village of Hogsmeade was. Ayame could not help but find, the village of Hogsmeade, more beautiful than anything else in that precise moment.

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A/N: Thanks for all of you that have leaved reviews and has favorited and/or followed this story thus far. I hope that you are not too upset with me not updating in a long while (hides and runs for cover after seen a lot of sharp objects going my way). I love you all and I hope to update another chapter soon. Please keep one reviewing, it is what gives me motivation to keep on updating more chapters in this story.


	11. Flashbacks and More Training in the ROR

A/N: Hello, everyone. I'm back. Sorry that the last chapter was mostly book related but it was for a purpose none-the-less. I hope you like this chapter! This was suppose to be part of chapter 10 but decided to cut it in two for the time being, since the other was already too long.

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 **Chapter 11: Flashbacks and More Training in the Room of Requirement**

Harry had been going to the Room of Requirement for his weekly training. Every week a new member of Kaname Kuran's cycle would train him in one of his powers. Today was no different. The raven hair boy remembered the first day that his true training began like it happened only a few hours ago.

 _~2 weeks before the visit to Hogsmeade~_

 _Harry has been having a very bad day. His hand was a mess thanks to the repeated detentions with the toad woman, who only liked to torment him with making him do lines with blood quills. In his hand was now a very distinctive 'I must not tell lies' scar in it. Every time he has to go to detention he would end up with the ugly urge to rip that woman's head off. Make a bloody mess out of her. The Kuran's have been giving him some time to sort things out (mainly homework) so that he doesn't end badly in his classes. They would always help him with his studies if they could._

 _Today was the last day of detention with Umbridge and he was feeling the bloodlust really badly. He knew that during the day he had to coup with the blood tablets that Kiryuu and Ayame gave him but today was not a very good day. He needed his mate's blood no matter what. His eyes were beginning to tint red in his otherwise emerald eyes. His throat burn every time he tried to take any other sustenance that was_ _ **not**_ _Ayame's blood. He knew, that if he had to go to that toad tonight for detention, she most likely give him the blood quill again and that would only make things worse for everyone._

 _Ayame that evening took Harry through a door and let him drink his fill. Unfortunately for them the other level B vampires were having a little meeting in that same room and saw the exchange between the two lovers. The only one to_ _ **not**_ _panic was Zero, who already knew about what was going on. Hanabusa, been the genius that he was, had figure it out in two seconds as well as Takuma, though he took a little bit more time to figure out than the other blond. By the time that Harry came to his complete senses, Ruka, was at the verge of murder. Shiki and Rima didn't even care very much, after all, it was their love life. Kain was attempting to get Ruka in control for he knew that the aristocrat woman loved the one that was been bitten like a daughter as well. Aidou, Ichijou and Seiren were just watching from the sideline but were feeling very upset for not been informed sooner._

 _The raven hair boy had a very big blush on his cheeks after he became aware of the others, very self-conscious. He didn't know how to make things better for his mate. He knew deep down that he had angered all the level B vampires in the room for biting a pureblood princess. Too bad for them he was also a pureblood prince and the princess mate but he still felt bad about it never-the-less. Kaname and Yuuki had just walked into the abandon classroom and saw their son-in-law getting his fill of blood for the week's loss thanks to the pink toad._

" _Kaname-sama, I'm so sorry –" started Ruka. Kaname lifts his hands in a dismissal._

" _This boy here is my daughter's mate, Ruka," Kaname says. "He's another pureblood vampire and you are to show him respect for he is my sisters' twin, Lilly's, son. Understood?!"_

" _Yes, Kaname-sama," they all say as one._

" _Now to what I was going to," started Kaname. "Tomorrow I want you all at the seventh floor in the Room of Requirement. We'll meet after diner. This teenager will need all the help he can get to control his powers."_

" _ **Hai**_ _, Kaname-sama!" they all reply again._

 _~The next night at the Room of Requirement~_

 _All of the vampires have gathered on the seventh floor in the room of requirement. They were really interested in what the room was and for what it was made for. They couldn't wait to see how powerful was their new prince. They just couldn't help but be intrigued. They never expected Yuuki-sama to have a twin sister! Kaname decided to make the place look like it did the first time (with the pond, the soil, and the other items that he used fist to determine what was the boy's affinity) and added some other training gadgets like mats._

" _I see we're all here and ready," said Kaname in a monotone voice. "Please, Harry, demonstrate what you're made off to this incredulous bunch. You already know how to tap onto your powers, your only need would be controlling them and them not controlling you."_

 _Harry did as he was told and did the demonstration with every one of the elements in front of him. All of the others including Zero looked at the teenager in awe and something akin to fear. Kaname had been helping him thus far with manipulating darkness and wind. Though he was good at manipulating both elements, the ravenet had not yet mastered neither darkness nor wind. The male pureblood felt that it was time to turn for the others to help. Today he had asked Takuma for help. The blond, green eyed noble had the power of light. That night Harry trained to control his power of light._

 _~A week before Hogsmeade (ROR)~_

 _Kaname had made it clear that today was Rima's turn to help Harry with his lightning abilities. Rima was not so fond of the idea of her been next. With each section, the teenage pureblood had they could feel his powers growing and maturing more. By now the pureblood kid had mastered wind and darkness and was in the process of mastering his powers of light. Now by mixing lightning with light the boy was becoming more and more powerful by the week and by the end of the year a fearsome and worthy opponent. The blond aristocrat woman was ruthless that day._

" _Come on, newbie," said Rima in a monotone. "Lightning manipulation is more difficult than the others. If you master this out the others will not be that difficult to master."_

 _Kaname chuckled. The blond girl was not the type to talk and express to much but when it came to things like this she was fearless as well as ruthless. By the end of that day, the blond noble girl was panting and in need of blood. Kaname had made a trap door so that all those that needed to feed were able to without the others hindering._

~Back to present~

Today was the turn of Hanabusa Idou, the ice wilder, blond vampire. He could not wait for the blond to help him master his water/ice element. Idou-kun had become like family to him in the last few weeks after that accident in the abandoned classroom. The aristocrat had been helping him with his essays from that day on. His way of helping with his classes made it easy for him to understand more quickly than studying with 'Mione.

When he entered the others onto the Room of Requirement, the blue eyed blond was already there. He had turned the training part more for water/ice training; though he left the other training areas untouched. Harry was received on the training ground with a long lecture on Hanabusa's part before starting. The blond aristocrat explained everything on how to manipulate water/ice element to the 'T'.

"Do you have any questions?" Idou asked Harry. Harry shook his head 'no'. "Well, let's start then." Hanabusa said with a smirk.

It took Harry an hour to get how to manipulate the water and another to do the same to the ice. The last hour was made reviewing his other already practiced abilities with Kaname, Takuma and Rima. In that hour he found that he had already mastered both light and lighting abilities which made the others feel proud of the boy. They never told him of their praise for they knew that the boy didn't like that kind of thing so they only patted his shoulders and said "good job today".

At the end of their three hours training everyone decided to do other things like reading for the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuff. Harry took the opportunity and went to the royal pair to ask a question that been bothering him for a long while. Every time that he is attacked by dementors it was always the same and he could not help but hope that maybe he was right in some way.

"Uncle Kaname, Aunt Yuuki," Harry starts. Both purebloods look at him with a tender smile. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Harry," says Kaname. "What do you want to know?"

"It's something that has been bugging me for a while," replied Harry. "Every time that dementors attack me, I end up hearing a woman screaming in my head. I know that voice is my mother's and I was wondering if a pureblood vampire such as us can actually die from such a curse as the killing curse?"

"That's an interesting and valid question, Harry," replies Kaname. "The answer to that question is no, there's no way we can be killed by a killing curse. We are the only creature in existence that is next to impossible to kill been by humans or wizards. You can ask Zero and Yuuki about it. They had to gang up in order to kill Yuri's and Haruka's older brother after coming back to life to devour Yuuki's pure blood. If it wasn't for Zero helping Yuuki that madman would have consumed both of us and would have gone hunting for the last Kuran blood mainly you and your mother. The only thing this curse could do is only weaken us and make us comatose."

"I remember my mother scream the moment the curse hit her and from what I've been able to read the only curse that makes you scream is the cruciatus. The killing curse is supposed to be that a killing curse with no pain what so ever." Harry said.

"Can it be that my sister Lilly and your father did not die that night but were rendered in a coma all this time?" Yuuki asked.

Kaname thought for a moment that question before saying, "it must be it. There's no way that course could kill them, they were both purebloods, and they had both awakened their blood by that time. Who did the Dark Lord Voldemort get to first?"

"My father," said Harry. "My mother took me to my cot and shot the door only for it to blow to reveal Voldemort at the door. She had put me down just in time for the explosion. She tried reasoning with him to not try to kill me but he did not listen to her. He did ask her to step aside three times but she didn't do it."

"I see," said Kaname. "So he used the cruciatus on her to move her and then he use the killing curse directing it to you. Since you were but a babe you as defenseless as a normal human babe so she took it for you and thus rebounding to Voldemort killing him instead and you with a scar."

Ayame came to them after finishing a spar with Zero and sat on her lover's lap wrapping her arms around Harry's neck. She started to nozzle at his neck. Harry knowing what she wanted tilted his head a little and let her play with his neck for a while. Ayame hummed and licked her mate's throat for a moment before biting and taking a mouthful of blood. Harry wrapped his arms around Ayame's delicate waist and pulled her more to him. After that Kaname dismissed everyone to their common rooms to rest.

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A/PS: I hope you liked reading this chapter and please don't kill me for the other one. The story is beginning to take a twist for the better of it! I might not be able to keep writing until the last of May. I'm in my fourth year in the University and it's taking a toll on me. Not to mention that my family it bitching to much about not making time for them. XD See you guys next time and don't forget to leave reviews, favorite and/or follow the story if you like it. Leave constructive comments please not ones with bashing and not telling the writer how to improve.


	12. New Educational Decree Number 24

A/N: Sorry everyone for such a long time without updating, I've been having family problems and a major writers block (not to mention I've been too depressed this past months thanks to my own parents) T-T I hope you like this chapter and would like to hear/read what you think of it.

Chapter Warning: a little bit of Hermione!Bashing

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything but my OC and the ideas, everything else belongs to Matsuri Hino (VK) and JK Rowling (HP).

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Chapter 12: New Educational Decree Number Twenty-four

Harry felt happier for the rest of the weekend than he had done all term. During the weekend, he stayed with his mate, her family and the other vampires training his powers (the already trained ones) to the maximum of his abilities. His homework was already taken care off since a long time ago and revised by Hanabusa Aidou (the genius prodigy), who demanded to see his work instantly. They have been helping the ravenet teenager with his practical studies like potions (which he was still struggling to pass) and to his amazement he had extreme talents for it.

The knowledge that they were doing something to resist Umbridge and the Ministry, and that he was a key part of the rebellion, gave Harry a feeling of immense satisfaction. He kept reliving Saturday's meeting in his mind: all those people, coming to him to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts … and the looks on their faces as they had heard some of the things he had done. The knowledge that all those people did not think him a lying weirdo, but someone to be admired, buoyed him up so much that he was still cheerful on Monday morning, despite the imminent prospect of all his least favorite classes.

He and Ron headed downstairs from their dormitory together and not until they were halfway across the sunlit common room did they notice the addition to the room that had already attracted the attention of a small group of people. A large sign had been affixed to the Gryffindor notice board, so large that it covered everything else on there — the lists of secondhand spellbooks for sale, the regular reminders of school rules from Argus Filch, the Quidditch team training schedule, the offers to barter certain Chocolate Frog cards for others, the Weasleys' new advertisement for testers, the dates of the Hogsmeade weekends, and the lost-and-found notices. The new sign was printed in large black letters and there was a highly official-looking seal at the bottom beside a neat and curly signature.

— _**BY ORDER OF —**_

 _ **THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS**_

 _All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge). No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor. Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled._

 _The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four._

 _Signed:_

 _Dolores Jane Umbridge_

 _ **HIGH INQUISITOR**_

Harry was reading the notice through again. The happiness that had filled him since Saturday was gone. His insides were pulsing with rage.

"This isn't a coincidence," he said, his hands forming fists. "She knows."

"She can't," said Ron at once.

In that precise moment Ayame and Zero came down the stairs and stared at the notice on the board. They sighed in exasperation for the woman's stupidity. They could feel the young pureblood's irritation and frustration from everyone in the room.

"Believe us," Zero countered at Ron's remark. "She can and there's no stopping her now that she has gain so much power from the minister."

"Though," Ayame started. "That girl Hermione was very stupid and narrow-minded to held that kind of meeting in that kind of place. As we said before, anyone could have heard you and told her after they left. It wasn't one of the kids on the meeting though of that I'm almost certain. It had to be someone from outside or one of the adults inside the pub."

"Let's go check on Hermione first," said Ron running up the stairs for the girls' bedroom. Harry was going to run up the stairs with his best friend when Ayame hold him by the shoulder and squeezed sending a mute message 'wait and see what happens when a boy tries to go to the girls' bedroom'. Harry waited and soon enough he saw with his own eyes the stairs disappear and become a slide and sliding down was Ron.

"Er — I don't think we're allowed in the girls' dormitories," said Harry, pulling Ron to his feet and trying not to laugh. Two fourth-year girls came zooming gleefully down the stone slide.

"Oooh, who tried to get upstairs?" they giggled happily, leaping to their feet and ogling Harry and Ron.

"Me," said Ron, who was still rather disheveled. "I didn't realize that would happen. It's not fair!" he added to Harry, as the girls headed off for the portrait hole, still giggling madly. "Hermione's allowed in our dormitory, how come we're not allowed?"

"Well, it's an old-fashioned rule," said Hermione, who had just slid neatly onto a rug in front of them and was now getting to her feet, "but it says in Hogwarts, A History that the founders thought boys were less trustworthy than girls. Anyway, why were you trying to get in there?"

"To see you — look at this!" said Ron, dragging her over to the notice board. Hermione's eyes slid rapidly down the notice. Her expression became stony. "Someone must have blabbed to her!" Ron said angrily.

'Heh, she's only smart on the academic part but not on the logical one.' Ayame thought while viewing the spectacle. 'Oh the drama,' she thought sarcastically trying not to sneaker as they continued to beaker at each other.

After Ron's and Hermione's little 'fight' they went back to the great hall for breakfast. They all had breakfast, but before going to their first class Angelina came to Harry and demanded that he behave in front of the toad so that the Quidditch team could play on the season. After Angelina's little discussion with Harry they all went for their first class which was History of Magic, where they were expecting to see the toad like woman since she's never been to that class and inspected Mr. Binns yet, but the woman never came to that class.

As the class went on Hedwig appeared on the window edge of the class room all injured and with a letter tied on her leg. The pureblood ravenet hurriedly went to her, took her in his arms and excused himself to the ghost professor.

Once outside the room Harry returned Hedwig to his shoulder and hurried off up the corridor, pausing to think only when he was out of sight of Binns's door. His first choice of somebody to cure Hedwig would have been Hagrid, of course, but as he had no idea where Hagrid was, his only remaining option was to find Professor Grubbly-Plank and hope she would help.

He peered out of a window at the blustery, overcast grounds. There was no sign of her anywhere near Hagrid's cabin; if she was not teaching, she was probably in the staffroom. He set off downstairs, Hedwig hooting feebly as she swayed on his shoulder.

Two stone gargoyles flanked the staffroom door. As Harry approached, one of them croaked, "You should be in class, sunny Jim."

"This is urgent," said Harry curtly.

"Oh~, urgent, is it?" said the other gargoyle in a high-pitched voice. "Well, that's put us in our place, hasn't it?"

Harry knocked; he heard footsteps and then the door opened and he found himself face-to-face with Professor McGonagall. "You haven't been given another detention!" she said at once, her square spectacles flashing alarmingly.

"No, Professor!" said Harry hastily. "That's not it!"

"Well then, why are you out of class?" she asked.

"It's urgent, apparently," said the second gargoyle snidely.

"I'm looking for Professor Grubbly-Plank," Harry explained. "It's my owl, she's injured."

"Injured owl, did you say?" Professor Grubbly-Plank appeared at Professor McGonagall's shoulder, smoking a pipe and holding a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Yes," said Harry, lifting Hedwig carefully off his shoulder, "she turned up after the other post owls and her wing's all funny, look," he said showing the injured owl.

Professor Grubbly-Plank stuck her pipe firmly between her teeth and took Hedwig from Harry while Professor McGonagall watched. "Hmm," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, her pipe waggling slightly as she talked. "Looks like something's attacked her. Can't think what would have done it, though. … Thestrals will sometimes go for birds, of course, but Hagrid's got the Hogwarts thestrals well trained not to touch owls …"

Harry neither knew nor cared what thestrals were, he just wanted to know that Hedwig was going to be all right. Professor McGonagall, however, looked sharply at Harry and said, "Do you know how far this owl's traveled, Potter?"

"Er," said Harry. "From London, I think."

He met her eyes briefly and knew that she understood "London" to mean "number twelve, Grimmauld Place" by the way her eyebrows had joined in the middle.

Professor Grubbly-Plank pulled a monocle out of the inside of her robes and screwed it into her eye to examine Hedwig's wing closely. "I should be able to sort this out if you leave her with me, Potter," she said. "She shouldn't be flying long distances for a few days, in any case."

"Er — right — thanks," said Harry, just as the bell rang for break.

"No problem," said Professor Grubbly-Plank gruffly, turning back into the staffroom.

"Just a moment, Wilhelmina!" said Professor McGonagall. "Potter's letter!"

"Oh yeah!" said Harry, who had momentarily forgotten the scroll tied to Hedwig's leg. Professor Grubbly-Plank handed it over and then disappeared into the staffroom carrying Hedwig, who was staring at Harry as though unable to believe he would give her away like this. Feeling slightly guilty, he turned to go, but Professor McGonagall called him back. "Potter!"

"Yes, Professor?" he asks. She glanced up and down the corridor; there were students coming from both directions.

"Bear in mind," she said quickly and quietly, her eyes on the scroll in his hand, "that channels of communication in and out of Hogwarts may be being watched, won't you?"

"Of course Professor," said Harry, but the flood of students rolling along the corridor was almost upon him. Professor McGonagall gave him a curt nod and retreated into the staffroom, leaving Harry to be swept out into the courtyard with the crowd. Here he spotted Ron and Hermione already standing in a sheltered corner, their cloak collars turned up against the wind. Harry slit open the scroll as he hurried toward them and found five words in Sirius's handwriting:

 _Today, same time, same place._

After all the drama with Hedwig they all went for their next class which was Double Potions. While going to the dungeons for class they found Malfoy and said boy started ogling about the Slytherin's Quidditch team having been granted immediate permission from Umbridge to continue playing straightaway. To top it all up said Slytherin and his friends started to laugh and mock the Gryffindors as if he had the right. The pureblood teen wanted to murder them so bad. It was Zero who intervene and held the ravenet back. After jabbing Harry about Quidditch, he went and started making fun of Neville and his parents predicament of been mentally destabilized because of the torturing curse.

The door to the dungeon classroom opened just when Ayame held Neville back from murdering the Malfoy brat. Harry sat with his girlfriend at the back and since they became an item they had been sitting together and his potions were beginning to improve now that he was far away from Malfoy and closer to Kaname. To their displeasure, Umbridge, was sitting on the front with her clip board waiting for Snape's class to start. Professor Umbridge spent the first half hour of the lesson making notes in her corner of the room.

"Well, the class seems fairly advanced for their level," she said briskly to Snape's back. "Though I would question whether it is advisable to teach them a potion like the Strengthening Solution. I think the Ministry would prefer it if that was removed from the syllabus." Snape straightened up slowly and turned to look at her.

"Now … how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" she asked, her quill poised over her clipboard.

"Fourteen years," Snape replied. His expression was unfathomable.

"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?" Professor Umbridge asked Snape.

"Yes," said Snape quietly.

"But you were unsuccessful?" Umbridge taunted.

"Obviously," the potion Professor said sarcastically.

Professor Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard. "And you have applied regularly for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?"

"Yes," said Snape quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very angry.

"Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?" asked Umbridge.

"I suggest you ask him," said Snape jerkily.

"Oh I shall," said Professor Umbridge with a sweet smile.

"I suppose this is relevant?" Snape asked, his black eyes narrowed.

"Oh yes," said Professor Umbridge. "Yes, the Ministry wants a thorough understanding of teachers' … er … backgrounds …"

She turned away, walked over to Pansy Parkinson and began questioning her about the lessons. Snape looked around at Harry and their eyes met for a second. Unfortunately for Snape Harry's potion was a perfect one even though the boy had been paying more attention to the 'conversa-tion' with the toad woman then his potion. The potions master's face contorted into one of rage at seen he could not blame nor take points from the boy.

Instead Snape had already given them homework, and he had Quidditch practice this evening; this would mean another couple of sleepless nights. It did not seem possible that he had awoken that morning feeling very happy. All he felt now was a fervent desire for this day to end as soon as possible. After lunch was divination which passed fairly quickly with a grouchy Trelawney. Later was DADA with Umbridge. They all entered the room and Harry started to talk to Hermione about Trelawney. In that moment Umbridge entered the room as he spoke, wearing her black velvet bow and an expression of great smugness. "Good afternoon, class," she squeaked.

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted drearily.

"Wands away, please …" the woman said and looked at the vampires with hatred before walking to the front. But there was no answering flurry of movement this time; nobody had bothered to take out their wands. "Please turn to page thirty-four of Defensive Magical Theory and read the third chapter, entitled 'The Case for Non-Offensive Responses to Magical Attack.' There will be —"

"— no need to talk," chorused all of the vampires on the room.

Angelina was not happy in the least that evening. She had to cancel their practice thanks to the toad not wanting to give them permission yet. Harry was not thrilled in the least; he wanted to practice and blank his thoughts from the day's events. The pureblood teen, who was making very little progress with his Potions essay, decided to give it up for the night. As he put his books away, Ron, who was dozing lightly in an armchair, gave a muffled grunt, awoke, looked blearily into the fire and said, "Sirius!" Harry whipped around; Sirius's untidy dark head was sitting in the fire again.

"Hi," he said, grinning.

"Hi," chorused Harry, Ayame, Ron, and Hermione, all four kneeling down upon the hearthrug. Crookshanks purred loudly and approached the fire, trying, despite the heat, to put his face close to Sirius's.

"How're things?" said Sirius.

"Not that good," said Harry, as Hermione pulled Crookshanks back to stop him singeing his whiskers. "The Ministry's forced through another decree, which means we're not allowed to have Quidditch teams —"

"— or secret Defense Against the Dark Arts groups?" said Sirius. There was a short pause.

"How did you know about that?" Harry demanded.

"You want to choose your meeting places more carefully," said Sirius, grinning still more broadly. "The Hog's Head, I ask you …"

"Well, it was better than the Three Broomsticks!" said Hermione defensively. "That's always packed with people —"

"— which means you'd have been harder to overhear," said Sirius. "You've got a lot to learn, Hermione."

Ayame nodded her head in understanding. 'I somehow knew this was bound to happen thanks to Hermione and her stupid book brain,' she thought in exasperation.

"Who overheard us?" Harry demanded. Inside he grimaced knowing this was all Hermione's bad luck in looking for good places for a secret meeting.

"Mundungus, of course," said Sirius, and when they all looked puzzled he laughed. "He was the witch under the veil."

"That was Mundungus?" Harry said, stunned. "What was he doing in the Hog's Head anyway?"

"What do you think he was doing?" said Sirius impatiently. "Keeping an eye on you, of course."

"I'm still being followed?" asked Harry angrily. His eyes beginning to change color. Ayame noticed and wrapped her arms around the angry teen and kissed him on the base of his neck to calm him down. He instantly calmed down somewhat but you could still see a hint of red in the base of his irises.

"Yeah, you are," said Sirius, "and just as well, isn't it, if the first thing you're going to do on your weekend off is organize an illegal defense group." But he looked neither angry nor worried; on the contrary, he was looking at Harry with distinct pride.

After relying a message from Molly Weasley to her son, Harry and Hermione about not wasting their life on secret organizations that, if found out would get them expelled. There was another pause in which Crookshanks, mewing, attempted to paw Sirius's head, and Ron fiddled with a hole in the hearthrug.

"So you want me to say I'm not going to take part in the defense group?" he muttered finally.

"Me? Certainly not!" said Sirius, looking surprised. "I think it's an excellent idea!"

"You do?" said Harry, his heart lifting. Ayame smiled and gave him another peck.

"Of course I do!" said Sirius. "D'you think your father and I would've lain down and taken orders from an old hag like Umbridge?"

Ayame giggles at Sirius retort on the subject. She was beginning to like the other male and his antiques. "But — last term all you did was tell me to be careful and not take risks —" Harry starts.

"Last year all the evidence was that someone inside Hogwarts was trying to kill you, Harry!" said Sirius impatiently. "This year we know that there's someone outside Hogwarts who'd like to kill us all, so I think learning to defend yourselves properly is a very good idea!"

"And if we do get expelled?" Hermione asked, a quizzical look on her face. All of them looked at her at her question.

"Hermione, this whole thing was your idea!" said Harry, staring at her. The pureblood princess glares at the bushy hair girl in exasperation.

"I know it was. … I just wondered what Sirius thought," she said, shrugging.

'Sure, you were,' thought Ayame while rolling her eyes in a quizzical and sarcastic way.

"Well, better expelled and able to defend yourselves than sitting safely in school without a clue," said Sirius. "So, how are you organizing this group? Where are you meeting?"

"No, not yet," Harry said.

Sirius started by suggesting the shrinking shack but Hermione ruled out that idea on been too small. Then he suggested a passage on the fourth floor but this time it was Harry who rule it out by saying the passage was blocked.

"Oh …" said Sirius, frowning. "Well, I'll have a think and get back to…" He broke off. His face was suddenly tense, alarmed. He turned sideways, apparently looking into the solid brick wall of the fireplace.

"Sirius?" said Harry anxiously. But he had vanished. Harry gaped at the flames for a moment, then turned to look at Ron and Hermione. 'What the hell is going on now,' he thought in alarm. 'I have a very bad feeling.'

"Why did he…?" Hermione gave a horrified gasp and leapt to her feet, still staring at the fire. A hand had appeared amongst the flames, groping as though to catch hold of something; a stubby, short-fingered hand covered in ugly old-fashioned rings.

All four of them ran for it; at the door of the boys' dormitory Harry looked back. Umbridge's hand was still making snatching movements amongst the flames, as though she knew exactly where Sirius's hair had been moments before and was determined to seize it.

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A/N2: Hi, everyone. I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in a long while XD I hope you liked this chapter and don't mind the little bit of Hermione bashing here but it's actually true in a way... she's only smart on the academic/book part not on the practical/logical part =-=' Anyways please tell me what you think and I'm already working on the next chapter so expect it soon. RxR


	13. The Creation of DA

A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone! I've been having a serious case of writer's block on this story! T-T I want to give my sincerest thanks to everyone who has commented (reviewed), or add the story (or me) to your favorite or follow up! You guys made my day! I never thought in my wildest dreams that this story would be so liked! O-O; You are awesome! Thanks!

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own in anyway or form Harry Potter or Vampire Knight, they have their own owners which are Mrs. Rowling and Mrs. Hino. I only own the OC's and the plot.**

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 **Chapter 13: The Creation of D.A. (Dumbledore's Army)**

It was now the weekend and Harry has been trying to get his powers under control. During the last week the ravenet had been training extra hard in order to control and master every of his powers before starting the DADA association. Thus far he had been progressing far more rapidly than everyone had ever expected. The aristocrats were amazed by Harry's fast learning mastery on his powers. Now the teen could control all of his elements and had mastered all but the last power which was his earth element. Zero had been training him on that one since his powers to use vines were pretty much similar. Harry's training with Zero were a race to not get killed by his vines and unleash his earth abilities. Kaname had been also helping the teen on how to shut his mind and showing him how to create false memories and thoughts so his enemies don't figure out anything. (A/N: It's pretty much like occlumensy but is much more advance and taught in a simpler way.) After a week of training his mind, now he could see into Voldy's mind but Voldy could not see nor tamper into his.

The last day of the weekend Harry and the other vampires were ready to help the other teens learn self-defense not only in a magical way but also on the physical manner. That night after training with the silver hair hunter for the last time; they all decided to make this place everyone's training field. The moment everyone was going back to their room, something caught their attention. They all started to hear a dark voice coming from within the room and yet it was not **in** the room. Everyone frowns and shivers at the darkness that comes from the voice.

"I think, I'll have to come back another day, when I'm free from homework, the new defense against the dark arts association and Quidditch, not to mention any new detention with the toad, and look for the thing that emits the sound," Harry stated. Everyone nod.

"I'll help you," Ayame said.

"And so will I," Kiryuu interjects.

"Well, we'll need to start leaving before the teachers find out we're here and give us detention," the vampires all nodded to what their leader said. "Harry don't do anything rash. Try and control your own impulses, or Umbridge will take that as an advantage and use it to manipulate you."

Harry nodded his head in understanding, taking his cloak out of its hiding place and wrapping Zero, his mate and himself in it. Within minutes all of the vampires were on their common rooms including the three Gryffindors. Soon Ayame and the two boys parted to their rooms.

 **~Dream Sequence~**

 _Voldemort had been bitching all day because nothing had gone according to plan. He had been trying for the last week or so to make contact with the Potter brat and find out who were those vampires and why were they at Hogwarts. Every time he tried to enter the kid's mind he ended up in a blockade which was impossible to brake. Today was also a dead end for him. His frustration was in the end of insanity. Thinking fast on what to do, he started formulating a plan to 'help' his 'subordinates' that were inside Azkaban._

' _After everything is ready and the Lestrange family is out of Azkaban along with my most trusted followers, I will have to make sure none of my other hurcruxes are damaged. I know that the dairy is lost thanks to that 'incompetent' of Lucius. Salazar's locket is save for now and so is the ring pass down to the heir of Gaunt, Ravenclaw's diadem is at Hogwarts on the Room of Requirement, Hufflepuff's cup will be given to the Lestrange for safe kipping in their own volt at Gringotts, Nigini is always with me so there's no need to worry "she's a serpent after all".' Voldemort thought not aware that Harry was actually taking note of everything that the older man thought or talked or even happen in the dark side._

 _Harry could not help but smirk in his dreams at Tom's predicament, knowing everything related to the dark side, while the serpent-man was unaware of his side. His eyes watching everything with glee, while the other man racked his brain trying to infiltrate his without success._

 **~The next evening~**

At half-past seven Harry, Ayame, Zero, Ron, and Hermione left the Gryffindor common room, Harry clutching a certain piece of aged parchment in his hand. Fifth years were allowed to be out in the corridors until nine o'clock, but all three of them kept looking around nervously as they made their way up to the seventh floor.

"Hold it," said Harry warningly, unfolding the piece of parchment at the top of the last staircase, tapping it with his wand, and muttering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

A map of Hogwarts appeared upon the blank surface of the parchment. Tiny black moving dots, labeled with names, showed where various people were. "Filch is on the second floor," said Harry, holding the map close to his eyes and scanning it closely, "and Mrs. Norris is on the fourth."

"And Umbridge?" said Hermione anxiously.

"In her office," said Harry, pointing. "Okay, let's go." They hurried along the corridor to the place Harry had been practicing his vampire magic, a stretch of blank wall opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy's foolish attempt to train trolls for the ballet.

"Okay," said Harry quietly, while a moth-eaten troll paused in his relentless clubbing of the would-be ballet teacher to watch. "Kaname-san said to walk past this bit of wall three times, concentrating hard on what we need."

They did so, turning sharply at the window just beyond the blank stretch of wall, then at the man-size vase on its other side. Ron had screwed up his eyes in concentration, Hermione was whispering something under her breath, Harry's fists were clenched as he stared ahead of him.

 _We need somewhere to learn to fight. …_ he thought _. Just give us a place to practice defense against the dark arts and martial arts… somewhere they can't find us …_

"Harry," said Hermione sharply, as they wheeled around after their third walk past. A highly polished door had appeared in the wall.

Ron was staring at it, looking slightly wary. Harry reached out, seized the brass handle, pulled open the door, and led the way into a spacious room lit with flickering torches like those that illuminated the dungeons eight floors below.

The walls were lined with wooden bookcases, and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, and a large, cracked Foe-Glass that Harry was sure had hung, the previous year, in the fake Moody's office.

"These will be good when we're practicing Stunning," said Ron enthusiastically, prodding one of the cushions with his foot.

"And just look at these books!" said Hermione excitedly, running a finger along the spines of the large leather-bound tomes. " _A Compendium of Common Curses and Their Counter-Actions … The Dark Arts Outsmarted … Self-Defensive Spellwork …_ wow …" She looked around at Harry, her face glowing, and he saw that the presence of hundreds of books had finally convinced Hermione that what they were doing was right. "Harry, this is wonderful, there's everything we need here!"

And without further ado she slid _Jinxes for the Jinxed_ from its shelf, sank onto the nearest cushion, and began to read.

There was a gentle knock on the door. Harry looked around; Ginny, Neville, Lavender, Parvati, and Dean had arrived.

"Whoa," said Dean, staring around, impressed. "What is this place?"

Harry began to explain, but before he had finished more people had arrived, and he had to start all over again. By the time eight o'clock arrived, every cushion was occupied. Harry moved across to the door and turned the key protruding from the lock; it clicked in a satisfyingly loud way and everybody fell silent, looking at him. Hermione carefully marked her page of _Jinxes for the Jinxed_ and set the book aside.

"Well," said Harry, slightly nervously. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've -er-obviously found it okay-"

One by one everyone (even the vampires) entered the room. "It's fantastic!" said Cho, and several people murmured their agreement.

"It's bizarre," said Fred, frowning around at it. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then. …"

"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" asked Dean from the rear of the room, indicating the Sneakoscopes and the Foe-Glass.

"Dark Detectors," said Harry, stepping between the cushions to reach them. "Basically they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled. …"

He gazed for a moment into the cracked Foe-Glass; shadowy figures were moving around inside it, though none was recognizable. He turned his back on it.

"Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and, er …" He noticed a raised hand. "What, Hermione?"

"I think we ought to elect a leader," said Hermione.

"Harry's leader," said Cho at once, looking at Hermione as though she were mad.

"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," said Hermione, unperturbed. "It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So… everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?" Everybody put up their hands, even Zacharias Smith, though he did it very halfheartedly.

"Er … right, thanks," said Harry, who could feel his face burning. "And … _what_ , Hermione?" Kaname and the other vampires groaned and rolled their eyes in exasperation.

"I also think we ought to have a name," she said brightly, her hand still in the air. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity; don't you think?"

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina hopefully.

"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.

"I was thinking," said Hermione, frowning at Fred, "more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."

"The Defense Association?" said Cho. "The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"

"Yeah, the D.A.'s good," said Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"

There was a good deal of appreciative murmuring and laughter at this.

"All in favor of the D.A.?" said Hermione bossily, kneeling up on her cushion to count. "That's a majority — motion passed!"

She pinned the piece of paper with all of their names on it on the wall and wrote DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY across the top in large letters.

"Okay, now that everything is sorted out, I would like to brief you about what I want to teach you," Harry said. "We're going to be working on easy defensive spells at first and escalate to higher levels of complexity. I'm also want to teach you hand-to-hand combat in case you are disarmed by battle or as a way to confuse your attacker. This classes will be given by the vampires since they know more about self-defense, hand-to-hand combat. This is so, if worse comes to worse, you have a back-up plan and survive the war."

Everyone stared at Harry with admiration. "Right," said Harry, when she had sat down again, "shall we get practicing then? I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful. In the last hour we'll switch to hand-to-hand, self-defense."

"Oh _please,_ " said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"

Harry's eyes turned slightly red in frustration. "I've used it against him," said Harry quietly. "It saved my life last June."

Smith opened his mouth stupidly. The rest of the room was very quiet. Ayame stepped beside her mate trying to comfort him before he lost it.

"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave," Harry said menacingly.

Smith did not move. Nor did anybody else. The aristocrats all paled and shivered at the prince's dark aura; Zero started to take a defensive stance to try saving the students gathered in the room and the Kuran's all smirked but stayed on guard in case they were needed and something went wrong.

"Okay," said Harry taking a deep calming breath, his mouth slightly drier than usual with all those eyes upon him, "I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."

It felt very odd to be issuing instructions, but not nearly as odd as seeing them followed. Everybody got to their feet at once and divided up. Predictably, Neville was left partnerless.

"You can practice with me," Harry told him. "Right — on the count of three, then — one, two, three —"

The room was suddenly full of shouts of " _Expelliarmus_!": Wands flew in all directions, missed spells hit books on shelves and sent them flying into the air. Harry was too quick for Neville, whose wand went spinning out of his hand, hit the ceiling in a shower of sparks, and landed with a clatter on top of a bookshelf, from which Harry retrieved it with a Summoning Charm. Glancing around he thought he had been right to suggest that they practice the basics first; there was a lot of shoddy spellwork going on; many people were not succeeding in disarming their opponents at all, but merely causing them to jump backward a few paces or wince as the feeble spell whooshed over them.

" _Expelliarmus_!" said Neville, and Harry, caught unawares, felt his wand fly out of his hand.

"I DID IT!" said Neville gleefully. "I've never done it before — I DID IT!"

"Good one!" said Harry encouragingly, deciding not to point out that in a real duel situation Neville's opponent was unlikely to be staring in the opposite direction with his wand held loosely at his side. "Listen, Neville, can you take it in turns to practice with Ron and Hermione for a couple of minutes so I can walk around and see how the rest are doing?"

Harry moved off into the middle of the room. Something very odd was happening to Zacharias Smith; every time he opened his mouth to disarm Anthony Goldstein, his own wand would fly out of his hand, yet Anthony did not seem to be making a sound. Harry did not have to look far for the solution of the mystery, however; Fred and George were several feet from Smith and taking it in turns to point their wands at his back.

"Sorry, Harry," said George hastily, when Harry caught his eye. "Couldn't resist …"

Harry walked around the other pairs, trying to correct those who were doing the spell wrong. Ginny was teamed with Michael Corner; she was doing very well, whereas Michael was either very bad or unwilling to jinx her. Ernie Macmillan was flourishing his wand unnecessarily, giving his partner time to get in under his guard; the Creevey brothers were enthusiastic but erratic and mainly responsible for all the books leaping off the shelves around them. Luna Lovegood was similarly patchy, occasionally sending Justin Finch-Fletchley's wand spinning out of his hand, at other times merely causing his hair to stand on end.

"Okay, stop!" Harry shouted. " _Stop_! _STOP_!"

 _I need a whistle_ , he thought, and immediately spotted one lying on top of the nearest row of books. He caught it up and blew hard. Everyone lowered their wands.

"That wasn't bad," said Harry, "but there's definite room for improvement." Zacharias Smith glared at him. "Okay, now will be switching to hand-to-hand combat."

"Harry-kun, I think we'll have to work this by demonstrating first with a few practices," Zero advised. "Would you like for me to help you with the demonstrations?"

"That'll be great, thanks, Zero-kun," Harry confirmed. The silverette hunter nodded and went to the place where the mats were. They both took the mat on the floor and took fighting stance.

"I'm not going slow on you, just because the others are watching," Zero determined. The ravenet teen nodded in agreement to the other before launching their attacks.

The students gathered looked at the two in awe. While one attacked the other defended and vice-versa. It took 30 minutes before the friendly match concluded (with Zero pinned to the floor with Harry sitting on the silverette's back). All of the human kids in the place applauded once the match was over. The emerald eyed teen straightened himself and offered his hand to the lavender eyed hunter. The silverette took the teen's hand with a grateful smile crossing his delicate lips. After an hour of teaching the kids the basic in fighting like muggles, Harry decided to finish this session and give another 30 minutes of magic practice.

"Okay, let's try the _Expelliarmus_ again before calling it a day," Harry commanded.

He moved off around the room again, stopping here and there to make suggestions. Slowly the general performance improved. He avoided going near Cho and her friend for a while, but after walking twice around every other pair in the room felt he could not ignore them any longer.

"Oh no," said Cho rather wildly as he approached. " _Expelliarmious_! I mean, _Expellimellius_! I — oh, sorry, Marietta!"

Her curly-haired friend's sleeve had caught fire; Marietta extinguished it with her own wand and glared at Harry as though it was his fault. Harry just lifted an eyebrow at the accusing look from the other.

"You made me nervous, I was doing all right before then!" Cho told Harry ruefully. Harry sighs knowing perfectly well she has a crush on him. He knew that she had been divided for a long time, not knowing if she should stay with Cedric and not move one from him or start a relationship with another (mainly Harry). Too bad for her, he was already taken and happy with his mate.

"That was quite good," Harry lied, but when she raised her eyebrows he said, "Well, no, it was lousy, but I know you can do it properly, I was watching from over there." She laughed. Her friend Marietta looked at them rather sourly and turned away.

"Don't mind her," Cho muttered. "She doesn't really want to be here but I made her come with me. Her parents have forbidden her to do anything that might upset Umbridge, you see, her mum works for the Ministry."

"I see, what about your parents?" asked Harry.

"Well, they've forbidden me to get on the wrong side of Umbridge too," said Cho, drawing herself up proudly. "But if they think I'm not going to fight You-Know-Who after what happened to Cedric," she caught herself abruptly at the end, looking rather confused, and an awkward silence fell between them; Terry Boot's wand went whizzing past Harry's ear and hit Alicia Spinnet hard on the nose.

"Well, my father is very supportive of any anti-Ministry action!" said Luna Lovegood proudly from just behind Harry; evidently she had been eavesdropping on his conversation while Justin Finch-Fletchley attempted to disentangle himself from the robes that had flown up over his head. "He's always saying he'd believe anything of Fudge, I mean, the number of goblins Fudge has had assassinated! And of course he uses the Department of Mysteries to develop terrible poisons, which he feeds secretly to anybody who disagrees with him. And then there's his Umgubular Slashkilter —"

"Don't ask," Harry muttered to Cho (and fellow vampires who understood immediately) as she opened her mouth, looking puzzled. She giggled.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione called from the other end of the room, "have you checked the time?"

He looked down at his watch and received a shock — it was already ten past nine, which meant they needed to get back to their common rooms immediately or risk being caught and punished by Filch for being out-of-bounds. He blew his whistle; everybody stopped shouting, " _Expelliarmus_!" and the last couple of wands clattered to the floor.

"Well, that was pretty good," said Harry, "but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Same time, same place next week?"

"Sooner!" said Dean Thomas eagerly and many people nodded in agreement.

Angelina, however, said quickly, "The Quidditch season's about to start, we need team practices too!"

Harry sighs in annoyance. He looks at the vampires, gathered on the end of their group, in the eyes. They could see his need to feed was taking a toll on him and he wanted out.

"Let's say next Wednesday night, then," said Harry, "and we can decide on additional meetings then. Come on, we'd better get going."

He pulled out the Marauder's Map again and checked it carefully for signs of teachers on the seventh floor. He let them all leave in threes and fours, watching their tiny dots anxiously to see that they returned safely to their dormitories: The Hufflepuffs to the basement corridor that also led to the kitchens, the Ravenclaws to a tower on the west side of the castle, and the Gryffindors along the corridor to the seventh floor and the Fat Lady's portrait. The vampires all stayed with Harry for the moment (since they were the only ones that could stay out for a little longer).

"That was really, really good, Harry," said Hermione.

"Yeah, it was!" said Ron enthusiastically.

"Hey, guys, can you go on without me," Harry asked. "I want to talk with the vampires for a while about something." His friends looked at him with hurt expressions for a second before nodding. "It's okay guys, I'll talk to you after I've taken care of this." They sigh in appreciation.

Both teens walked out to their common room. The ravenet sighs in tiredness and frustration, taking a mat and sitting on it.

"What is it, Harry?" asked Kaname seen his nephew like this.

"I know what was hidden is in this room, the thing we felt yesterday," Harry stated. "It's one of Voldy's soul fragment, a hurcrux. Not only that he made 7 of this things. I entered his mind yesterday and found out about it."

They all gasp at this revelation. They've never thought that a human would dare do something so evil as fragment their own soul. Ayame leaned her body against her mate and offered her neck to him to bite. No longer wanting to deny himself what he needed (his fangs already pocking his thin lips) he bit into her tender flesh, eliciting a moan from her at the contact. After a few gulps of blood the teen retracted his fangs and lapped at the residual blood closing the wound in the process.

"Let's go everyone, before we get in more trouble," Harry said looking at the map again to see where the teachers were as well as Filch and Ms. Norris. The first to go back to their common rooms was Kaname and Yuuki. Then Aidou, Kain and Ruka; followed by Senri, Rima and Seiren. Finally, Zero, Ayame and Harry walked back to their common room. Tired and with great exhaustion, they all walked to their respective rooms and fell asleep the moment their heads touched the pillows.

* * *

 **A/N2: I'm really grateful for all the reviews encouraging me to write more and I'm really sorry for making you wait so much T-T From now on it will take longer for me to update. I will be starting my own original story and will be focusing more on that than on this but don't worry, I will finish this story no mater what! You have my word on it! See you in the next chapter! ^.^ RxR please!**


	14. FIRST HUNT, RESURRECTION AND QUIDDITCH

A/N: Hey, everyone! Here's the much awaited chapter 14! Hope you like it! Took me a lot of stress to complete; but hey, it has 7,437 WORDS! **THE LONGEST ONE YET!** It gave me a lot of pains and headaches but I'm happy with it. **HAPPY HALLOWE'EN** TO EVERYONE!

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, Vampire Knight or the spells from the show Charmed used on this chapter; they are all bound to their respective makers. I wish they were mine though -_-**

* * *

Chapter 14: FIRST HUNT, RESURRECTION AND QUIDDITCH

A week had pass since the first D.A. meeting. Harry Potter felt very proud of everyone that participated that day. As the week went by the ravenet vampire became more restless and decided to take a look on one of the rooms – the one that hid an object you don't want anyone to find – on the Room of Requirement. Ayame was by his side all the time giving her mate support. As they moved inside, they saw broomsticks, jewels, books, chess pieces, and other abandoned things.

On a crystal box, surrounded by other jewels, lied the most beautiful diadem they had ever seen. It was made in gold with a beautiful big blue diamond on the middle as its belly, diamonds surrounding the head and wings and two smaller light blue diamonds for the tail. Etched upon its surface was Ravenclaw's famous quote: _Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_. Unfortunately, they could feel the dark magic surrounding the beautiful diadem, that once held beautiful light magic inside. Harry, hurriedly, took the small box with the diadem inside and exited the room with his mate right behind him. Fortunately, for the vampire male, that day was a vampire training day.

Harry trained for a long time with Kaname that evening. The Pureblood King had decided to start teaching him how to manipulate darkness and shadows to his favor. This was the first day of shadow/darkness manipulation 'class'. After two hours of the shadows/darkness not even flinching – and sweat beginning to fall – the brunet decided to let Harry take a short break. The ravenet, gracefully, accepted the offer and sat on one of the transfigured sofas/love-seats that the Room of Requirement provided.

Exhaustedly, Harry, leans on Ayame – who was already seated on the love-seat – for support. Both teens sigh in contentment at been near each other; Yuuki sat on the second love-seat waiting for Kaname to seat with her and snuggle a little like the younglings. The Pureblood King moved to where his wife and mate sat and leaned his head to where her neck was; his nose trailing her pulse point. His eyes glowed blood-red as blood loss began to surge through him. With a few licks at Yuuki's pulse vain, Kaname sank his aroused fangs to her neck. As their leader fed from his mate, the others busied themselves with other things. The vampires were all looking forward to the next day, since it was the beginning of Samhain or Hallowe'en to the muggleborn witches/wizards. Harry, just like Kaname and the other vampires, had been feeling the excitement of the next day.

Unlike humans, magical beings, celebrated Samhain – that is a holiday that was dedicated to magic rituals for the living and the dead – and respected it with their lives. That day, the Vail of Death thinned, letting the souls of loved ones out for the night. It was also the perfect night for those with the affinity of necromancy. With the evidence – that Harry Potter's parents, aren't actually dead but in a slumbering coma – the vampires decided to go pay a visit to their graves that very night at midnight.

* * *

It was already 9 o'clock in the evening when, the vampires, decided to start their little excursion to Godric's Hollow. Harry had taken with him his map and invisibility cloak with him, before going for his training. He had also created a new place to guard the horcrux on the Room of Requirement – where he had simple access and yet is hard for others to enter, without a password (that was in Japanese and only the vampires would be able to get in [that is if they knew the password]) – so he could destroy it soon after finding the others and destroying the tougher ones.

Soon everyone was inside the cloak and ready to leave the grounds. The ravenet teen had decided to take the secret passage that led to Honeydukes cellar in Hogsmead. Soon after arriving, they all used the shadows to guide and walk them to their destination. After an hour of _Shadow Walking_ they arrived at the Holly Graveyard that, Lilly and James Potter, where buried at. Then, Harry – with his powers to manipulate earth and air – dug the coffins out to start the ritual.

While the boy dug his parents out, put the soil back into place and used the shadows so that: no muggle or wizard would see them, it was already 11 o'clock and the _shadow walk_ back to Hogwarts would take the remaining hour. Luckily for everyone the walk back took only 45 minutes and only 5 more to reach the Room of Requirement again. _'We need a room where we can perform a necromancy ritual'_ the ravenet vampire thought while passing the hall.

After passing 3 times chanting his request silently, a door appeared. They hastily opened the door only to gawk at the room that had appeared. A large pentagram – made of chalk – in the middle of the room, a potions laboratory on the right and a large rectangular table with ritual tools on the left with a few comfortable benches here and there; welcomed the large group of vampires as they entered with the two comatose Purebloods, who were still on their coffins.

Hastily, Harry, went to the tool table and looked at the ritual tools. There was gray, orange, blue, green, red, black and white candles, lavender bags, dementor's bones and cloaks, unicorn hair and horn dust, incense, apples, some gems, a ritual knife, Thestrals bones, garlic, salt, goblet, branches and protection crystals. Hurriedly, he took one red, one green, one blue, one light gray and a white candle and placed them near the pentagram. He also took the salt, the unicorn horn dust, some lavender and a few protection crystals for the protective circle. Later he took the bones of Thestrals and Dementors as well as the latter's cloak and made a bag out of the cloak where he put the bones of both dark creatures along with the ritual knife, gems, incense, goblet and branches.

By the time he had finished sorting out everything and putting his parents on the very center of the large pentagram, it was already midnight. The candles position was as followed: light gray at the tip signaling Spirit, white at the East side of the pentagram signaling Air, green on the North side of the pentagram as Earth, red on the South side as Fire and blue on the West for Water. The bag of bones he put on the Spirit triangle, the incense on the Air, the gems on the earth, the branches (that were now on fire) was deposited on the one representing Fire and the goblet (that now had water) went to Water. Harry felt nervous as he started the ritual, bagging the gods and goddesses for protection. A bright light engulfs him and the circle pentagram blessing the ritual about to start. As the light dissipated, the young Pureblood, moved inside the protective circle with the ritual knife on hand.

"Hear these words, hear my cry, Spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, Cross now the great divide," he intoned. "Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me."

As Harry chanted, he cut his palm and force his blood out. His blood soon began to flow freely on his father's pale face and lips. Then he intoned while spieling his blood this time for his mother, "Powers of the vampires rise, Course unseen across the skies. Come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here. Blood to blood, I summon thee; Blood to blood, return to me."

As the teen kept chanting, the others were preparing a blood replenishing potion and other potions to help the pair when they woke up from their long sleep. After the fifth chant, a great light engulfed the three Purebloods. The two on the coffins began to stir while the light dissipated completely letting everyone see what was happening inside the circle. The three Kurans eyes began to sting as they tried to contain their tears. Every single potion had been completed by the time the Potters opened their eyes. By the time – Harry's parents – opened their eyes, the ravenet teen was already shedding tears of happiness.

Lilly and James Potter awaken to the smell and taste of blood – a very familiar taste of blood – and chanting. Once again that familiar taste invaded their taste buds and made the hunger more bearable for the two. The first thing that the red haired pureblood saw was a pair of glistering emerald green eyes looking at her. She smiles lovingly at the boy that completely resemble her mate/husband, James. Then it drowns to her – who the boy in front of her was – her son, Harry.

"Harry," she rasped out and winced at the effort. The boy nodded and – with happy tears running down his chicks – smiled and hugged lovingly his mother. Kaname and Yuuki walked into the circle with the pain suppressants and blood replenishing potions and gave them to Harry. The boy then gave her the potions to drink while he checked on his father now stirring into awareness form.

Just as James opened his eyes, Harry, once again cut his hand to feed his father a little bit of blood. James was stunned once he laid eyes on the young boy. _'He has to be at least, 14 – 15 years'_ he thought to himself. _'Dear gods, he looks just like me. He's my son, the one I tried to protect and ended up incapacitated.'_

"Harry, is that you?" he rasped, wincing with discomfort. Harry nodded again and hugged his father. As James held his now teenage son, he became aware of the vampires watching the scene with happiness and pride. The pain and the thirst were the only thing that made the Maraunder let go of his son. The vampire teen, immediately, gave his father the potions and drowned his own replenishing potion.

Both of Harry's parents, have been staying on the Room of Requirement for the time been with, their son, bringing them food from either the kitchen or the Great Hall. After the resurrection, Lilly and James, argued their son into telling them everything that they had missed. Luckily for the boy it was 3 o'clock in the morning and he needed his sleep; so, after changing the room into a master bedroom with a bathroom attached, he took his wand and used it to extract every bit of info they would need to know and dashed to Gryffindor tower to get some sleep. The next day, Hermione, devised a way to communicate with the rest of the DA members, without the pink toad knowing. In a few days, the first Quidditch game of the season, would begin and this time his parents would be there to see him.

* * *

For the time been – Harry and the DA, kept on meeting on the come-and-go room – with his parents on a Notice-Me-Not spell viewing their son in action. As the first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, drew nearer, their DA meetings were put on hold because Angelina insisted on almost daily practices. The fact that the Quidditch Cup had not been held for so long added considerably to the interest and excitement surrounding the forthcoming game. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were taking a lively interest in the outcome, for they, of course, would be playing both teams over the coming year; and the Heads of House of the competing teams, though they attempted to disguise it under a decent pretense of sportsmanship, were determined to see their side's victory. Harry realized how much Professor McGonagall cared about beating Slytherin when she abstained from giving them homework in the week leading up to the match.

"I think you've got enough to be getting on with at the moment," she said loftily. Nobody could quite believe their ears until she looked directly at Harry and Ron and said grimly, "I've become accustomed to seeing the Quidditch Cup in my study, boys, and I really don't want to have to hand it over to Professor Snape, so use the extra time to practice, won't you?"

Snape was no less obviously partisan: He had booked the Quidditch pitch for Slytherin practice so often that the Gryffindors had difficulty getting on it to play. He was also turning a deaf ear to the many reports of Slytherin attempts to hex Gryffindor players in the corridors. When Alicia Spinnet turned up in the hospital wing with her eyebrows growing so thick and fast that they obscured her vision and obstructed her mouth, Snape insisted that she must have attempted a Hair-Thickening Charm on herself and refused to listen to the fourteen eyewitnesses who insisted that they had seen the Slytherin Keeper, Miles Bletchley, hit her from behind with a jinx while she worked in the library.

Harry felt optimistic about Gryffindor's chances; they had, after all, never lost to Malfoy's team and now that his parents were with him, it was more so. Admittedly Ron was still not performing to Wood's standard, but he was working extremely hard to improve. His greatest weakness was a tendency to lose confidence when he made a blunder; if he let in one goal he became flustered and was therefore likely to miss more. On the other hand, Harry had seen Ron make some truly spectacular saves when he was on form: During one memorable practice, he had hung one-handed from his broom and kicked the Quaffle so hard away from the goal hoop that it soared the length of the pitch and through the center hoop at the other end. The rest of the team felt this save compared favorably with one made recently by Barry Ryan, the Irish International Keeper, against Poland's top Chaser, Ladislaw Zamojski. Even Fred had said that Ron might yet make him and George proud, and that they were seriously considering admitting that he was related to them, something he assured Ron they had been trying to deny for four years.

The only thing really worrying Harry was how much Ron was allowing the tactics of the Slytherin team to upset him before they even got onto the pitch. Harry, of course, had endured their snide comments for more than four years, so whispers of, "Hey, Potty, I heard Warrington's sworn to knock you off your broom on Saturday," far from chilling his blood, made him laugh. "Warrington's aim's so pathetic I'd be more worried if he was aiming for the person next to me," he retorted, which made Ron and Hermione laugh and wiped the smirk off Pansy Parkinson's face.

But Ron had never endured a relentless campaign of insults, jeers, and intimidation. When Slytherins, some of them seventh years and considerably larger than he was, muttered as they passed in the corridors, "Got your bed booked in the hospital wing, Weasley?" he did not laugh, but turned a delicate shade of green. When Draco Malfoy imitated Ron dropping the Quaffle (which he did whenever they were within sight of each other), Ron's ears glowed red and his hands shook so badly that he was likely to drop whatever he was holding at the time too.

The morning of the match dawned bright and cold. When Harry awoke, he looked around at Ron's bed and saw him sitting bolt upright, his arms around his knees, staring fixedly into space.

"You all right?" said Harry.

Ron nodded but did not speak. Harry was reminded forcibly of the time that Ron had acci-dentally put a slug-vomiting charm on himself. He looked just as pale and sweaty as he had done then, not to mention as reluctant to open his mouth.

"You just need some breakfast," Harry said bracingly. "C'mon."

The Great Hall was filling up fast when they arrived, the talk louder and the mood more exuberant than usual. As they passed the Slytherin table there was an upsurge of noise; Harry looked around and saw that nearly everyone there was wearing, in addition to the usual green-and-silver scarves and hats, silver badges in the shape of what seemed to be crowns. For some reason, many of them waved at Ron, laughing uproariously.

They received a rousing welcome at the Gryffindor table, where everyone was wearing red and gold, but far from raising Ron's spirits the cheers seemed to sap the last of his morale; he collapsed onto the nearest bench looking as though he were facing his final meal.

"I must've been mental to do this," he said in a croaky whisper. " _Mental._ "

"Don't be thick," said Harry firmly, passing him a choice of cereals. "You're going to be fine. It's normal to be nervous."

"I'm rubbish," croaked Ron. "I'm lousy. I can't play to save my life. What was I thinking?"

"Get a grip," said Harry sternly. "Look at that save you made with your foot the other day, even Fred and George said it was brilliant –"

Ron turned a tortured face to Harry. "That was an accident," he whispered miserably. "I didn't mean to do it – I slipped off my broom when none of you were looking and I was trying to get back on and I kicked the Quaffle by accident."

As the ginger said that, the vampires (including Harry's parents that were under the invisibility cloak), Hermione and Ginny walked into the Great Hall. The vampires stride was as graceful as ever.

"Well," said Harry, recovering quickly from this unpleasant surprise, "a few more accidents like that and the game's in the bag, isn't it?"

Hermione and Ginny sat down opposite them wearing red-and-gold scarves, gloves, and rosettes. The vampires were wearing their scarves and gloves. All of the vampires took a seat with Harry at the Gryffindor table and expressed their support and wish for a good time. Ayame sat right beside her mate and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheeks for good luck.

"How're you feeling?" Ginny asked Ron, who was now staring into the dregs of milk at the bottom of his empty cereal bowl as though seriously considering attempting to drown himself in them.

"He's just nervous," said Harry rolling his eyes at his friend's antique.

"Well, that's a good sign, I never feel you perform as well in exams if you're not a bit nervous," said Hermione heartily.

"Hello," said a vague and dreamy voice from behind them. Harry looked up: Luna Lovegood had drifted over from the Ravenclaw table. Many people were staring at her and a few openly laughing and pointing; she had managed to procure a hat shaped like a life-size lion's head, which was perched precariously on her head.

"I'm supporting Gryffindor," said Luna, pointing unnecessarily at her hat. "Look what it does."

She reached up and tapped the hat with her wand. It opened its mouth wide and gave an extremely realistic roar that made everyone in the vicinity jump except the vampires.

"Welcome to the Gryffindor supporters' club," said Hanabusa cheerily; a big grin plastered on his handsome face.

"It's good, isn't it?" said Luna happily. "I wanted to have it chewing up a serpent to represent Slytherin, you know, but there wasn't time. Anyway … good luck, Ronald!"

"Very good indeed, Ms. Lovegood," Hanabusa dreamily said. The others snickered inwardly at their friend's reaction, with some (mainly his cousin Kain, Zero and the Golden Trio) rolling their eyes and sighing in exasperation.

She waved her hand goodbye as she drifted away. They had not quite recovered from the shock of Luna's hat before Angelina came hurrying toward them, accompanied by Katie and Alicia, whose eyebrows had mercifully been returned to normal by Madam Pomfrey.

"When you're ready," she said, "we're going to go straight down to the pitch, check out conditions and change."

"We'll be there in a bit," Harry assured her. "Ron's just got to have some breakfast."

It became clear after ten minutes, however, that Ron was not capable of eating anything more and Harry thought it best to get him down to the changing rooms. As they rose from the table, Hermione got up too, and taking Harry's arm, she drew him to one side.

"Don't let Ron see what's on those Slytherins' badges," she whispered urgently.

Harry looked questioningly at her, but she shook her head warningly; Ron had just ambled over to them, looking lost and desperate.

"Good luck, Ron," said Hermione, standing on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek. "And you, Harry –"

Ron seemed to come to himself slightly as they walked back across the Great Hall. He touched the spot on his face where Hermione had kissed him, looking puzzled, as though he was not quite sure what had just happened. He seemed too distracted to notice much around him, but Harry cast a curious glance at the crown-shaped badges as they passed the Slytherin table, and this time he made out the words etched onto them: WEASLEY IS OUR KING. The others trailed behind them – with Kaname and Yuuki giving their fellow house mates – deadly glares as they passed.

With an unpleasant feeling that this could mean nothing good, he hurried Ron across the entrance hall, down the stone steps, and out into the icy air. The frosty grass crunched under their feet as they hurried down the sloping lawns toward the stadium. There was no wind at all and the sky was a uniform pearly white, which meant that visibility would be good without the drawback of direct sunlight in the eyes. Harry pointed out these encouraging factors to Ron as they walked, but he was not sure that Ron was listening.

Angelina had changed already and was talking to the rest of the team when they entered. Harry and Ron pulled on their robes (Ron attempted to do his up back-to-front for several minutes before Alicia took pity on him and went to help) and then sat down to listen to the pre-match talk while the babble of voices outside grew steadily louder as the crowd came pouring out of the castle toward the pitch.

"Okay, I've only just found out the final lineup for Slytherin," said Angelina, consulting a piece of parchment. "Last year's Beaters, Derrick and Bole, have left now, but it looks as though Montague's replaced them with the usual gorillas, rather than anyone who can fly particularly well. They're two blokes called Crabbe and Goyle, I don't know much about them –"

"We do," said Harry and Ron together.

"Well, they don't look bright enough to tell one end of a broom from another," said Angelina, pocketing her parchment, "but then I was always surprised Derrick and Bole managed to find their way onto the pitch without signposts."

"Crabbe and Goyle are in the same mold," Harry assured her.

They could hear hundreds of footsteps mounting the banked benches of the spectators' stands now. Some people were singing, though Harry could not make out the words. He was starting to feel nervous, but he knew his butterflies were as nothing to Ron's, who was clutching his stomach and staring straight ahead again, his jaw set and his complexion pale gray.

"It's time," said Angelina in a hushed voice, looking at her watch. "C'mon everyone … good luck."

The team rose, shouldered their brooms, and marched in single file out of the changing room and into the dazzling sunlight. A roar of sound greeted them in which Harry could still hear singing, though it was muffled by the cheers and whistles.

The Slytherin team were standing waiting for them. They too were wearing those silver crown-shaped badges. The new captain, Montague, was built along the same lines as Dudley, with massive forearms like hairy hams. Behind him lurked Crabbe and Goyle, almost as large, blinking stupidly in the sunlight, swinging their new Beaters' bats. Malfoy stood to one side, the sunlight gleaming on his white-blond head. He caught Harry's eye and smirked, tapping the crown-shaped badge on his chest.

"Captains shake hands," ordered the umpire, Madam Hooch, as Angelina and Montague reached each other. Harry could tell that Montague was trying to crush Angelina's fingers, though she did not wince. "Mount your brooms."

Madam Hooch placed her whistle in her mouth and blew. The balls were released and the fourteen players shot upward; out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Ron streak off toward the goal hoops. He zoomed higher, dodging a Bludger, and set off on a wide lap of the pitch, gazing around for a glint of gold; on the other side of the stadium, Draco Malfoy was doing exactly the same.

"And its Johnson, Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me –"

"JORDAN!" yelled Professor McGonagall.

"Just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest – and she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's – ouch – been hit from behind by a Bludger from Crabbe. … Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and – nice Bludger there from George Weasley, that's a Bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse passes to Alicia Spinnet and Spinnet's away –"

Lee Jordan's commentary rang through the stadium and Harry listened as hard as he could through the wind whistling in his ears and the din of the crowd, all yelling and booing and singing –

"— dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger — close call, Alicia — and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?"

And as Lee paused to listen the song rose loud and clear from the sea of green and silver in the Slytherin section of the stands: _Weasley cannot save a thing, He cannot block a single ring, that's why Slytherins all sing: Weasley is our King. Weasley was born in a bin, He always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley will make sure we win, Weasley is our King._

As they finished the song and were about to start again – the ones that were singing – fell unexpectedly silent, as they felt the two Slytherin Pureblood vampire aura wash over them, warning them of unimaginable pain if they kept singing that up.

"— and Alicia passes back to Angelina!" Lee shouted, and as Harry swerved, his insides boiling at what he had just heard, he felt grateful to the Kurans for silencing the bunch of Slytherins. "Come on now, Angelina – looks like she's got just the Keeper to beat! – SHE SHOOTS – SHE – aaaaah …"

Bletchley, the Slytherin Keeper, had saved the goal; he threw the Quaffle to Warrington who sped off with it, zigzagging in between Alicia and Katie. Harry could not help himself: Abandoning his search for the Snitch, he turned his Firebolt toward Ron, a lone figure at the far end of the pitch, hovering before the three goal hoops while the massive Warrington pelted toward him …

"– and it is Warrington with the Quaffle, Warrington heading for goal, he's out of Bludger range with just the Keeper ahead –"

"– so it's the first test for new Gryffindor Keeper, Weasley, brother of Beaters, Fred and George, and a promising new talent on the team – come on, Ron!"

Without the annoying song, Ron, was able to concentrate on the game – and to the delight of the Gryffindors and supporters – he managed to save the goal by hitting it hard with his foot and giving them a goal in the process.

"Nice save, Ron and Gryffindor score!" came Lee's voice amid the cheering and booing from the crowds below. "So that's ten-nil to Gryffindor – great job, Ron …"

"– and Gryffindor back in possession and it is Katie Bell tanking up the pitch –" cried Lee valiantly.

"Harry, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" screamed Angelina, soaring past him to keep up with Katie. "GET GOING!"

Harry realized that he had been stationary in midair for more than a minute, watching the progress of the match without sparing a thought for the whereabouts of the Snitch; horrified, he went into a dive and started circling the pitch again. There was no sign of the Snitch anywhere he looked; Malfoy was still circling the stadium just like Harry. They passed midway around the pitch going in opposite directions with Malfoy scowling at them for scoring.

"– and it is Warrington again," bellowed Lee, "who passes to Pucey, Pucey's off past Spinnet, come on now Angelina, you can take him – turns out you can't – but nice Bludger from Fred Weasley, I mean, George Weasley, oh who cares, one of them anyway, and Warrington drops the Quaffle and Katie Bell – er – drops it too – so that's Montague with the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Montague takes the Quaffle, and he's off up the pitch, come on now Gryffindor, block him!"

Harry zoomed around the end of the stadium behind the Slytherin goal hoops, willing himself not to look at what was going on at Ron's end.

"— and Pucey's dodged Alicia again, and he's heading straight for goal, stop it, Ron!"

Harry did not have to look to see what had happened: There was a terrible groan from the Gryffindor end, coupled with fresh scream and applause from the Slytherins. They had finally scored a goal. Now they were even with 10-10, there was still time for Gryffindor to catch up or catch the Snitch, a few goals and they would be in the lead as usual, Harry assured himself, bobbing and weaving through the other players in pursuit of something shiny that turned out to be Montague's watch strap, … but Ron let in two more goals. There was an edge of panic in Harry's desire to find the Snitch now. If he could just get it soon and finish the game quickly …

"— and Katie Bell of Gryffindor dodges Pucey, ducks Montague, nice swerve, Katie, and she throws to Johnson, Angelina Johnson takes the Quaffle, she's past Warrington, she's heading for goal, come on now Angelina – GRYFFINDOR SCORE! It's 30-20, 30-20 to Slytherin and Pucey has the Quaffle. …"

Harry could hear Luna's ludicrous lion hat roaring amidst the Gryffindor cheers and felt heartened; only ten points in it, that was nothing, they could pull back easily. Harry ducked a Bludger that Crabbe had sent rocketing in his direction and resumed his frantic scouring of the pitch for the Snitch, keeping one eye on Malfoy in case he showed signs of having spotted it, but Malfoy, like him, was continuing to soar around the stadium, searching fruitlessly …

"— Pucey throws to Warrington, Warrington to Montague, Montague back to Pucey – Johnson intervenes, Johnson takes the Quaffle, Johnson to Bell, this looks good – I mean bad – Bell's hit by a Bludger from Goyle of Slytherin and it is Pucey in possession again …"

But Harry had seen it at last: The tiny fluttering Golden Snitch was hovering feet from the ground at the Slytherin end of the pitch. He dived. … In a matter of seconds, Malfoy was streaking out of the sky on Harry's left, a green-and-silver blur lying flat on his broom. … The Snitch skirted the foot of one of the goal hoops and scooted off toward the other side of the stands; its change of direction suited Malfoy, who was nearer. Harry pulled his Firebolt around, he and Malfoy were now neck and neck …

Feet from the ground, Harry lifted his right hand from his broom, stretching toward the Snitch … to his right, Malfoy's arm extended too, reaching, groping … It was over in two breathless, desperate, windswept seconds – Harry's fingers closed around the tiny, struggling ball – Malfoy's fingernails scrabbled the back of Harry's hand hopelessly – Harry pulled his broom upward, holding the struggling ball in his hand and the Gryffindor spectators screamed their approval. …

They were saved, it did not matter that Ron had let in those goals, nobody would remember as long as Gryffindor had won – _WHAM!_

A Bludger hit Harry squarely in the small of the back and he flew forward off his broom; luckily he was only five or six feet above the ground, having dived so low to catch the Snitch, but he was winded all the same as he landed flat on his back on the frozen pitch. He heard Madam Hooch's shrill whistle, an uproar in the stands compounded of catcalls, angry yells and jeering, a thud, then Angelina's frantic voice.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"'Course I am," said Harry grimly, taking her hand and allowing her to pull him to his feet. Madam Hooch was zooming toward one of the Slytherin players above him, though he could not see who it was at this angle.

"It was that thug, Crabbe," said Angelina angrily. "He whacked the Bludger at you the moment he saw you'd got the Snitch – but we won, Harry, we won!"

Harry heard a snort from behind him and turned around, still holding the Snitch tightly in his hand: Draco Malfoy had landed close by; white-faced with fury, he was still managing to sneer.

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" he said to Harry. "I've never seen a worse Keeper …"

Meanwhile the vampires had run – from the stands to the pitch – to fret over their beloved Pureblood prince. Their eyes glowed in anger as they heard the _brat_ badmouthing the opposite player's Seeker. Harry did not answer; he turned away to meet the rest of the team who were now landing one by one, yelling and punching the air in triumph, all except Ron, who had dismounted from his broom over by the goalposts and was making his way slowly back to the changing rooms alone to sulk.

"Did you like my lyrics, Potter? We wanted to write another couple of verses!" Malfoy called, as Katie, Alicia and Ayame hugged Harry. "But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly – we wanted to sing about his mother, see –"

"Talk about sour grapes," said Angelina, casting Malfoy a disgusted look. Everyone in the vicinity that could hear nodded in agreement, even the vampires were looking at the Malfoy heir with disgust.

"— we couldn't fit in useless loser either – for his father, you know –" Malfoy continued to taunt.

Fred and George had realized what Malfoy was talking about. Halfway through shaking Harry's hand they stiffened, looking around at Malfoy. As Harry continued to hear Malfoy's insults, his aura began to darken but he decided to keep in control of his emotions.

"Leave it," said Angelina at once, taking Fred by the arm. "Leave it, Fred, let him yell, he's just sore he lost, the jumped-up little –"

"— but you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter?" said Malfoy, sneering. "Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles even the Weasleys' hovel smells okay –"

Harry grabbed hold of George; meanwhile it was taking the combined efforts of Angelina, Alicia, and Katie to stop Fred leaping on Malfoy, who was laughing openly. Harry looked around for Madam Hooch, but she was still berating Crabbe for his illegal Bludger attack.

"Or perhaps," said Malfoy, leering as he backed away, "you can remember what your mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it –"

Harry was really pissed now, his aura so dark and murderous that even his eyes reflected his displeasure by turning a very dark bloody red. Everyone on the vicinity backed away from him frightened, even Malfoy took three steps back and only the Pureblood vampires stayed near the pissed off teen. With a lip of faith, Ayame, Yuuki, James and Lilly, wrapped their arms around Harry trying desperately to calm the young Pureblood male.

The moment Harry was surrounded by the most powerful of vampires, Madam Hooch appeared blowing a whistle. A frown marred her face as she saw the Pureblood vampire princess and Queen surrounding Harry, Shiki restraining George with his blood whip magic and the Quidditch team Chasers restricting Fred with a little bit of help of Aidou's ice magic.

"What's going on here?" she demanded as the Heads of House, Gryffindor and Slytherin, march-ed down to where the commotion was coming from.

"Well," both head of house demanded. "Explain yourselves!"

"Malfoy provoked us," said Harry stiffly from gritted teeth, his fangs starting to protrude down his lower lip. His aura spiked threateningly as he growled at Draco now cowering form; eyes glowing bloodier as his instinct to clear his parents name surfaced.

"Provoked you?" shouted Professor McGonagall before gulping down her discomfort at her student's murderous aura. "He'd just lost, hadn't he, of course he wanted to provoke you! But what on earth he can have said that justified you three been restrained."

"He insulted my parents," snarled George. "And Harry's mother."

Everyone viewing the game gapped, at seen the Potter couple, very much alive and restricting their son while trying to not bounce at the ingrate-little-Slytherin-brat that dared bad-mouth not only the Great and Noble house of Potter but also the Weasleys as well. James blue eyes and Lilly's green ones glowed bright bloody red like their son's.

" _Hem, hem._ "

Everyone near enough to hear the dreadful sound turn to see a woman on bright pink (that resembled a toad) right behind the two heads of house. She was smiling in the horribly sickly, ominous way that Harry had come to associate with imminent misery.

"May I help, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape?" asked Professor Umbridge in her most poisonously sweet voice.

"Help?" she repeated in a constricted voice. "What do you mean, 'help'?"

Professor Umbridge moved forward, still smiling her sickly smile. On the other end, the vampires surrounding Harry, Fred and George, glared at the pink toad woman with pouring hatred.

"Why, I thought you might be grateful for a little extra authority."

Snape, McGonagall and the ravenet's parents glared hole-heartedly at the woman/toad in front of them, their nostrils flared with unrestrained hatred. Snape sneered at the woman's audacity.

"You thought wrong," both teachers said, turning their back on Umbridge.

"Now as punishment for this awful display, 20 points will be taken from Harry and the Weasley twins so that THIS never happens again," said Professor McGonagall in a semi-stern tone. The three teens nodded their heads accepting their punishment. "Now 10 points will be awarded to each of the vampires and house mates that had the decency to restrain the three males so it never turned to bloodshed."

Meanwhile Snape was berating his house Quidditch team for their behavior. To say he was disappointed was a very big understatement! He was fuming with furry, especially with Crabbe and his godson Malfoy. "Well," Snape started. "To start, I'm very disappointed of you two," he pointed at the two who were in trouble, "this behavior was truly disgusting and bring shame to our house. Now as punishment for your action, both of you (once again his finger pointed at them), will be sacked from playing Quidditch for the rest of the year and ten points will be taken from the Slytherin house. I do not want to see this kind of behavior again, understood?" Every-one from the Slytherin team nodded not wanting the complete furry of their Head of House on them for long.

After the events on the pitch, everyone returned back to their dormitories (only the vampires, went to the Gryffindor dormitory and not their own). Snow was falling. The Snitch he had caught earlier was now zooming around and around the common room; people were watching its progress as though hypnotized and Crookshanks was leaping from chair to chair, trying to catch it.

"I'm going to bed," said Angelina, getting slowly to her feet.

She was soon followed by Alicia and Katie. Fred and George sloped off to bed sometime later, glowering at everyone they passed, and Ginny went not long after that. Only Harry, his parents, the vampires and Hermione were left beside the fire.

"Have you seen Ron?" Hermione asked in a low voice. Harry shook his head.

"I think he's avoiding us," said Hermione. "Where do you think he –?"

But at that precise moment, there was a creaking sound behind them as the Fat Lady swung forward and Ron came clambering through the portrait hole. He was very pale indeed and there was snow in his hair. When he saw Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, the vampires and Hermione he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Where have you been?" said Hermione anxiously, springing up.

"Walking," Ron mumbled. He was still wearing his Quidditch things. They all looked at him in disbelieve.

"You look frozen," said Hermione. "Come and sit down!"

Ron walked to the fireside and sank into the chair farthest from Harry's, not looking at him. The stolen Snitch zoomed over their heads.

"I'm sorry," Ron mumbled, looking at his feet.

"What for?" said Harry.

"For thinking I can play Quidditch," said Ron. "I'm going to resign first thing tomorrow."

James sneered at his son's ginger friend disgusted at the boy's lack of self-respect. "Sure," he said, "be like this. Run now to mommy and daddy. Keep doing things like this, never trying your best and you'll be no-one in the future, mark my words."

Ron dropped his head in shame at James, reprimand. He tried to make excuses of this match's experience which was countered by the elder Potter. Hermione got up and walked to the window, away from the argument, watching the snow swirling down against the pane.

"Look, drop it, will you!" Harry burst out. "It's bad enough without you blaming yourself for everything!"

Ron said nothing but sat gazing miserably at the damp hem of his robes. After a while he said in a dull voice, "This is the worst I've ever felt in my life."

Harry then recounted his, the twins and Malfoy's little mishap and said bitterly: "Join the club, all I wanted was tear his head off its joints."

"Well," said Hermione, her voice trembling slightly. "I can think of one thing that might cheer you all up."

"Oh yeah?" said Harry skeptically.

"Yeah," said Hermione, turning away from the pitch-black, snow-flecked window, a broad smile spreading across her face. "Hagrid's back."

"WHAT!?" they all shout as one.

* * *

 **Hey everyone! What do you think of this chapter? Was it good? The resurrection of Harry's parents moved up much more than I though. On an other thought, this story will be changing to M rank so please look up to some sexy/smexy content in the near future. Also this will be divided to two parts. First part is the complete 5th year and the second part will be divided between 6th and 7th year. Please leave a review or I won't be able to now what I need to improve; not only on my writing style but in everything in general. Love you all and Happy All Hollows Eve!**


	15. INTERLUDE AND HAGRID'S TALE

A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Life has been a bitch, but we all know that how it always works *sigh*. Long chapter up ahead; hope you all like it.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter nor Vampire Knight. All rights are reserved to their original makers. I'm just using their works for a little bit to make a new one. I don't do profit from this or any other work!

* * *

CHAPTER 15: INTERLUDE AND HAGRID'S TALE

~~Previously~~

After the events on the pitch, everyone returned back to their dormitories (only the vampires, went to the Gryffindor dormitory and not their own). Snow was falling. The Snitch he had caught earlier was now zooming around and around the common room; people were watching its progress as though hypnotized and Crookshanks was leaping from chair to chair, trying to catch it.

"I'm going to bed," said Angelina, getting slowly to her feet.

She was soon followed by Alicia and Katie. Fred and George sloped off to bed sometime later, glowering at everyone they passed, and Ginny went not long after that. Only Harry, his parents, the vampires and Hermione were left beside the fire.

"Have you seen Ron?" Hermione asked in a low voice. Harry shook his head.

"I think he's avoiding us," said Hermione. "Where do you think he –?"

But at that precise moment, there was a creaking sound behind them as the Fat Lady swung forward and Ron came clambering through the portrait hole. He was very pale indeed and there was snow in his hair. When he saw Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, the vampires and Hermione he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Where have you been?" said Hermione anxiously, springing up.

"Walking," Ron mumbled. He was still wearing his Quidditch things. They all looked at him in disbelieve.

"You look frozen," said Hermione. "Come and sit down!"

Ron walked to the fireside and sank into the chair farthest from Harry's, not looking at him. The stolen Snitch zoomed over their heads.

"I'm sorry," Ron mumbled, looking at his feet.

"What for?" said Harry.

"For thinking I can play Quidditch," said Ron. "I'm going to resign first thing tomorrow."

James sneered at his son's ginger friend disgusted at the boy's lack of self-respect. "Sure," he said, "be like this. Run now to mommy and daddy. Keep doing things like this, never trying your best and you'll be no-one in the future, mark my words."

Ron dropped his head in shame at James, reprimand. He tried to make excuses of this match's experience which was countered by the elder Potter. Hermione got up and walked to the window, away from the argument, watching the snow swirling down against the pane.

"Look, drop it, will you!" Harry burst out. "It's bad enough without you blaming yourself for everything!"

Ron said nothing but sat gazing miserably at the damp hem of his robes. After a while he said in a dull voice, "This is the worst I've ever felt in my life."

Harry then recounted his, the twins and Malfoy's little mishap and said bitterly: "Join the club, all I wanted was tear his head off its joints."

"Well," said Hermione, her voice trembling slightly. "I can think of one thing that might cheer you all up."

"Oh yeah?" said Harry skeptically.

"Yeah," said Hermione, turning away from the pitch-black, snow-flecked window, a broad smile spreading across her face. "Hagrid's back."

"WHAT!?" they all shout as one.

~~On with the Story~~

"Harry, sweetie," Lily began. "Maybe you should take your friends and girlfriend with you to see Hagrid. James and I need to talk to my siblings and your professors."

"…but…," Harry tried to protest.

"Sweetie, please," Lily pleaded. "I know you want us to go with you to meet him, but we can't right now. James and I also need to go talk with Severus about something that happened in the past. Plus, we both, need our time alone (she winked at her son who flushed in understanding) and so do you (she pointed to Ayame, his friends and him). We'll be talking to everyone. We're just talking to who needs it more first."

"Okay, mom," Harry slurred.

"Move along then," James replied with a small, proud smile.

Ayame, Hermione, Ron and Harry hurried to Hagrid's cabin to talk to the half giant. Meanwhile, James and Lilly walked the corridors to the dungeons, hoping against hope, that Severus would listen to them. Both of them had done something to the dour potion's master, something that scared him for a very long time. Both older Potters had seen how bad the scar went looking at Harry's school years. Lilly and her husband, James, felt concern and fear for their little ruler. The red haired pureblood vampire witch, actually cried in anger at what their little boy had gone through at school and the unfairness of it all. The Potter couple knew their son was reluctant to give them those memories and left all the memories concerning his childhood from the small school briefings. Lilly shivered as she remembered her first-born school years.

FLASHBACK

 _Lilly and James Potter awaken to the smell and taste of blood – a very familiar taste of blood – and chanting. Once again that familiar taste invaded their taste buds and made the hunger more bearable for the two. The first thing that the red haired pureblood saw was a pair of glistering emerald green eyes looking at her. She smiles lovingly at the boy that completely resemble her mate/husband, James. Then it drowns to her – who the boy in front of her was – her son, Harry._

" _Harry," she rasped out and winced at the effort. The boy nodded and – with happy tears running down his chicks – smiled and hugged lovingly his mother. Kaname and Yuuki walked into the circle with the pain suppressants and blood replenishing potions and gave them to Harry. The boy then gave her the potions to drink while he checked on his father now stirring into awareness form._

 _Just as James opened his eyes, Harry, once again cut his hand to feed his father a little bit of blood. James was stunned once he laid eyes on the young boy. '_ _He has to be at least, 14 – 15 years'_ _he thought to himself._ _'Dear gods, he looks just like me. He's my son, the one I tried to protect and ended up incapacitated.'_

" _Harry, is that you?" he rasped, wincing with discomfort. Harry nodded again and hugged his father. As James held his now teenage son, he became aware of the vampires watching the scene with happiness and pride. The pain and the thirst were the only thing that made the Maraunder let go of his son. The vampire teen, immediately, gave his father the potions and drowned his own replenishing potion._

 _MOMENTS LATER_

 _Both parents were gathered with their child. After careful consideration, Harry, gathered his 'Gryffindor courage' to show his parents some of his memories. He decided to reveal his first through forth years in Hogwarts first and then, on New Year's Eve, give them his life at the Dursleys. He hoped his parents would not overreact._

 _With great care, the young teenager, put his wand at his temple, after conjuring a pensive, and applied them to it. His parents looked at him in puzzlement at their child's antic. "Harry," his mother started. "Dear, why did you conjured a pensive and put the memories there to be viewed and don't talk to us? Is it so difficult to talk or are they that bad that you need to show us?"_

" _The second," Harry whispered to them. "I can only show you my school years at the moment. Nothing more. We don't have a lot of time."_

 _Lilly and James nodded and dived into the memories; Harry doing the same a few seconds later. His first year started with Hagrid taking him to Diagon Alley. Next was his ride at the Hogwarts Express and meeting Ron. The arrival to Hogsmead. The first years boarding the boat to enter the castle for the first time. His sorting where they found that Harry could have very easily been a Slytherin if he hadn't argued with the Sorting Hat to put him elsewhere resulting in his placement in the Lion's den. His first classes of the week (emphasizing his first experience with Professor Snape's potion class). His first time in flying class. The promotion into Gryffindor's Seeker from Professor McGonagall. The encounter with Fluffy, the Cerberus (three-headed dog from the Underworld). His first official Quidditch Game and how Professor Quirrell almost succeeded on killing him if it wasn't for Snape muttering a counter curse; which of course, he won. His first Christmas at the castle. The excursion to the Restricted Section on the invisibility cloak. His first detention because of Norbert, the dragon, into the Forbidden Forest along with Ron, Hermione and Draco. His encounter with Fence, the centaur and the mysterious dark robed unicorn killer. The talk with Hagrid that confirmed how to put down Fluffy and rob the Philosopher's Stone and how said giant ended up blabbing it to Voldy for the dragon egg. His adventure down the third-floor corridor to save the Stone from been taken (him almost dying in the prosses if Dumbledore didn't arrive in time) and the Final Feast of the Year at the Great Hall where Dumbledore gave the House Cup to the Gryffindors._

 _Second year started with him staying at the Weasleys. His first experience at floo travel, mispronunciation and subsequently ending at Nocturn Alley and at Diagon Alley like he was supposed to. The shopping and fight between Malfoy Sr. and Weasley Sr. Then came the train and how it was blocked so that Harry wasn't able to enter the platform and subsequently Ron. How they used Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia to travel for school and ended up on the Bumping Willow. Their first encounter with Gilderoy Lockheart. The Chamber of Secrets been opened for the first time in 50 years. The day of the new defense club foundation where Harry was paired with Draco Malfoy and ended up talking the snake language. Hermione finishing the Polyjuice Potion and the three friends trying to investigate if Draco was the Heir of Slytherin only to discover, the blond, didn't know and thought it was Harry. The attacks on the Muggle-born. The search and the voices. The findings of a journal from Tom Riddle, moaning Myrtle and the spiders. Hagrid been taken by the Ministry to Azkaban. Hermione been petrified and Ginny taken by the monster in the Chamber. Gilderoy showing his true colors and obliviating himself in the process. Harry going inside the Chamber to help Ginny, finding the truth and fighting the Basilisk to save his and Ginny's life. Him been impale by the serpent's deadly fang and Falx, the Phoenix, crying on his wound. All four participants returning to the school to receive medical treatment. Last Feast of the Year was held again with Gryffindor winning again._

 _Third year started with Harry seen the black dog. Then riding the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron. The knowledge of what Black did and 'why' he did it. The journey through the train and how the Dementors fed from his negative emotions for the first time. How the Dementors always ended up feasting on him more than anyone else. The day he learned the 'truth' after sneaking out of the castle using the 'map' and his cloak. His lessons with Lupin on the_ _Patronus Charm_ _. When Ron was taken hostage by the black dog only to learn that said dog was Sirius Black and that he was innocent of his supposed charges. Lupin arriving to help only to become a werewolf halfway through the night and letting Wormtail escape in the process. Sirius almost dying after almost been kissed by hundreds of Dementors and Harry and Hermione going in time in order to save Buckbeak and Sirius from their impending deaths. Then taking the House Cup at the End of the Year Feast._

 _Last year started with Harry having dreams of Voldy. Then the World Quidditch Cup where Ireland won the game by score but Hungary's Seeker, Viktor Krum, took the Snitch. The Death Eater attack after the game; then the ride to Hogwarts. The Tri-wizard Tournament was announced with Ex-Auror Moody been their new DADA Professor. Harry been called as a fourth champion. The first task; then the ball where he went with one of the Patil twins. The second task and how he decided to save not only Ron, who was his sacrifice, but Fleur's little sister as well. The third task and the resurrection of Voldemort was the most crucial moments and the more ominous of them all. How Peter killed Cedric right after landing at the graveyard. How on the fight between Harry and Voldemort, both wands connected as one, not letting one kill the other user. How their son took the Cup and transported himself and Cedric back to the castle. Then the truth of Moody been in reality Barty Crouch Jr. and the real Professor was reviled to be locked up inside a few boxes. The mourning of Cedric Diggory and the last Feast of the Year._

 _Finally, the memories from this year began to unfold. It began with Harry arriving with the Order of the Phoenix, to Grimmauld Place and seen Sirius again. Then the hearing at the Ministry about him doing underage magic in front of a Muggle. It didn't last, though and was cleared of all charges. Then coming back to school to find out that the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts. The first time he stood up to Umbridge, just to receive detention from the pink toad. How she made him use a Blood Quill to write the lines of_ _'I must not tell lies.'_ _How Zero and Ayame ended up in the same predicament for standing up for their new prince. When Hermione thought up the new DA Club. The first assembly at the Hogshead Pub. The first day on the ROR room. The building friendship and then courtship of the Kuran princess. Finally, the events of today, when he went to retrieve their bodies and did the ritual._

 _RESUMING AFTER MEMORIES_

 _They all left the pensive and Harry's painful memories. They could not believe that their son was in danger from the very beginning since he stepped foot inside the school and maybe even before that. They couldn't hold back their emotions for long. Lilly ran to her son and embraced him firmly, crying for forgiveness. James stood in front of his son, crying for his sake as well as plotting his own revenge for all those that dared hurt his baby boy. Soon enough, Lilly had cried herself to sleep and Harry was as exhausted if not completely drained, making James change the room into a large bedroom with a large bathroom installed. Then, the older male, put his wife on one of the ends of the bed and let his son crawl to the center, taking the other end for himself and sandwiching his son between his mother and father. That night Harry had very pleasant dreams and smiled all night long, feeling his parents' warmth for the first time in forever._

END OF FLASHBACK

Lilly could not believe that her baby had to go through so much on his school years. Only from seen his memories and she was scared shitless on her baby's behalf. James and Lilly where now in front of Severus Snape's classroom. James was going to apologize at first, for been such an ass when he was a teenager, but now after seen Harry's memories, he was going to demand answers from Snivelus. Nobody should hurt a child for he's/her's parents' mistakes! Lilly still felt guilty for what she did that day Severus called her a Mudblood for the first time. She impulsively, threw away her first friend and let James and the other Maraunders bully him for it, knowing it wasn't exactly his fault completely. Still, she was mad at her friend for taking his frustration on her son of all people!

Lilly knocked on the closed door. The two older Potter could feel the dour professor's aura from the other side. "Come in," said the dour man. Lilly was the first to enter the room, closely followed by her husband. Snape eyes widen in happiness, at seen his friend and secret crush, come through his door but then harden at seen the male behind her. "What do you want, Potter?" Severus sneered.

"We've come to talk, Sev," said Lilly, then added, "not fight."

Severus looked at her and saw that she was talking the truth; they had not come to fight but to seek answers as well as something else. What that something else was, he could not tell. He nodded and motioned for them to seat. They all did.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" asked Snape.

"How about how you've been treating our son, first, Sni-," James couldn't finish his sentence. His wife had elbowed him on the ribs hard enough to bruise once she heard the start of the offensive nickname. Severus face was as emotionless as ever, but on the inside, he was smirking like a fool and doing a victory dance.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," started Severus. "All I can tell you is that I don't hate your son. I've been trying to protect him from the first day he came to school, and the only way I could think of doing it, since I am a double spy for both Light and Dark, was by putting on a mask of hatred and indifference to your son. I'm really sorry if that hurt him, but at least I'd rather be hated than watching him die because I didn't do my job well."

"I see," both parents answered. "Thank you, Severus/Sniv-, oomph!"

"No problem," Snape sneered emotionlessly.

"Um, Sev," started Lilly. "I'm really sorry for my behavior in fifth year. I shouldn't have reacted in that way. It just hurt that my first and best friend had called me a Mudblood in front of everyone else."

"It's okay, Lilly," answered Severus. "I shouldn't have called you that in the first place. Once I had come out of my hatred and hurt, it was already too late to apologize. I should have stayed level-headed and thought things though in the first place. I'm really sorry for hurting you first."

Severus went to her and embraced her in a friendly manor for fear of triggering James bad side. James on the other hand stayed quiet and watching like a hawk as his greatest 'nemesis' comforted and apologized to his wife, who was crying tears of joy at the moment. James sighed. Now it was his turn; he needed to become a man and apologize for been a jerk all those times as a teenager. He made a coughing gesture to bring the two friends back to reality and tried to bring his Gryffindor courage out to apologize.

"Hm, Snape," James tried. "I was going to shout and curse you for what you did to my son and heir, but I now I know that it was just a mask to protect him, though that still doesn't mean it was alright and totally childish of you in the first place. I want to thank you for protecting him thus far and I want to apologize for my behavior during our school years. I was jealous of you for been smart and having Lilly-flower's attention since the very beginning."

Snape was rendered speechless at the moment. He could just stare at his 'nemesis'. James Potter had just apologized for his bullying behavior. That was a miracle in and off itself! Him, a Gryffindor was apologizing to a Slytherin, that was totally uncalled for! No-one from the house of Lions had done that before for one of the Snake Pit! He could feel a knot on his throat, tightening to impossible measures. He just nodded his acceptance to the apology too stunned to say a word. Even his mask failed by how stunned he was! After an hour of talking and catching up (Lilly and Severus), they all went separate ways.

IN THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT

James and Lilly had decided that today they would only talk with Severus. They needed the time alone to reacquaint themselves with each other. It had been 14 years after all. When they arrived at the ROR, they were greeted with a cozy room for themselves, with a Full-size four-poster bed in red linen, a wardrobe made of oak with some cloths that feat them and a mahogany-made night stand. To the left side of the room was a door, that when opened lead to a big bathroom with a big jacuzzi tub, a shower big enough for three people to bath in made like a waterfall, a loo for woman and one for man and two face washers.

Lilly sat on their 'bed' watching her husband survey the room's appearance. Heat was beginning to crawl through her still robed body. A blush appeared on her beautiful face at the thought of been in that _way_ with her husband again. The thought just made the heat skyrocket and the blush already on her face worsen. James arrived just a few minutes later to see his gorgeous wife completely flushed with desire. Her cent entered his nostrils heavily.

START SEX SCENE – WARNING AHEAD

In less than a second James was on top of her, kissing her passionately; his mind completely blank with desire. In seconds the kiss deepen, almost leaving them without air. Lust clouded eyes, looked at each other with love and devotion once they parted the kiss. James ran his tongue along his aroused fangs, breathing heavily. Lilly's were just as aroused as her husband at the moment, breathing in short pants. Their fingers entwined in a passionate way, not wanting to be apart from the other.

In mere seconds James had taken his wife's cloths off and was now staring at her beautiful, now naked body. Another passionate kiss was started then. Lilly's right hand fingers went to his neck and head while the other wrapped around his torso. Her legs parted to let her husband room to be between her legs. The red-head mother moaned into her husband's mouth in complete bliss. Their tongues fighting against each other. James tongue brushed against Lilly's aroused fangs making keen and shiver in pleasure. Her hips trying to find his as she tried to find some friction to her overwhelming need.

The kiss ended way too soon for them. Their need skyrocketing to overwhelming levels of passion and need. Lilly's fingers now ghosted his chest, nipples and lower regions yet not touching his manhood. His lips trailed kisses all the way from her shin to her throat to shoulders and up again in a sensual way that was driving the red-hair mad in pleasure. She gasps when she felt his hot tongue travel her pulse point, shivering in anticipation. Without warning his fangs pierced her making her moan and throw back her head in the prosses; making it easier to feed upon. By the time, James, had taken the first draught of blood from his beloved, she had taken his robes off and was palming his now free erection.

' _Fuck, this feels good,'_ he thought. _'I missed those hands.'_

After taking a second draught of blood, he left her neck and began to play with her breasts and nipples while lapping at her cleavage. Lilly's body was radiating heat and her scent musk in pleasure. Her moans becoming louder each second that passed by. James took his time savoring his wife's moans of pleasure, her scent, her heat even her body's flavoring into account. First, he lavished both of her breasts with his mouth, tongue and fingers for a while. When her nipples were completely erect, he moved down her body to her stomach and then navel. He then went to her feet and began to lick and kiss her sensitive toes.

James moved up after that to her thighs and inner thighs but still reluctant of going to her womanhood, prolonging his foreplay. He stared at her womanhood, his breath ghosted her hot cavern making her buckle her hips and moan, wanting to feel his mouth in her. _'Fuck, that felt good,'_ she thought, hazily. _'I can't take this anymore! I feel like I'm going to melt anytime soon!'_

Feeling his wife's annoyance through their bond, James dived into her womanhood liking it and making her moan loudly. She wrapped her legs, around his head; not wanting to be separated from that wonderful hot appendage. When his hot muscle entered her, she just couldn't hold it in anymore and came all over her husband's face with a loud cry of pleasure, panting heavily in her high. It took a while for her body to respond to such great moment, but when it did, she took the lead to return the favor for her husband.

Taking his thick, hot, hard manhood at hand, she began to kiss the head before licking the underside up to its head again. Lilly smirked at the soft moan that escaped James throat at her ministration. Pulling back down to lick at the underside and then traveled further down to his sack-balls. She licked, sucked and nibbled at them like she was eating a lollypop. Her fangs scraped at the sensitive flesh making the moans louder. James panted in exertion, his lust getting the better of him.

Feeling she had enough of his balls, Lilly licked her way up his dick until she was face-to-face with the head, which she immediately took to her mouth. The taste, of James' dick on her mouth, make her moan. Immediately, she began to suck on that hard flesh. Impatiently she slipped her fingers to play with her pussy, which was beginning to drip her essence again. Her unoccupied hand went to his dick and began to bump and tug at his length while she bobbed and sucked his hard prick.

In a show of strength, James, lowered his wife on her back to the mattress and position himself on her entrance and without saying anything, buried himself into her, making Lilly scream in satisfaction. She bites into his neck drawing blood from her husband. Her hot, wet channel felt so good and tight, not to mention her fangs piercing his sensitive flesh, made him moan in pleasure and lust. After a few seconds, he began to thrust in and out of her tight, moist channel. His thrusts sped up the moment Lilly began to ask for more and to go faster.

END SEX SCENE

Three hours later with a grunt of satisfaction, Lilly and James came together, with their bodies completely entwinned as one. They hurriedly, took a shower and went to sleep in each other's arms.

HARRY'S POV

They crept through the portrait hole and covered themselves hastily in the cloak — Ron had grown so much he now needed to crouch to prevent his feet showing — then, moving slowly and cautiously, they proceeded down the many staircases, pausing at intervals to check the map for signs of Filch or Mrs. Norris. They were lucky; they saw nobody but Nearly Headless Nick, who was gliding along absentmindedly humming something that sounded horribly like "Weasley Is Our King." They crept across the entrance hall and then out into the silent, snowy grounds. With a great leap of his heart, Harry saw little golden squares of light ahead and smoke coiling up from Hagrid's chimney. He set off at a quick march, the other three jostling and bumping along behind him, and they crunched excitedly through the thickening snow until at last they reached the wooden front door; when Harry raised his fist, and knocked three times, a dog started barking frantically inside.

"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry called through the keyhole. He frowned, there was something wrong with the half-giant. He could smell coagulated blood in the air.

"Shoulda known!" said a gruff voice.

They beamed at one another under the cloak; they could tell that Hagrid's voice was pleased. "Bin home three seconds … Out the way, Fang … Out the way, yeh dozy dog …"

The bolt was drawn back, the door creaked open, and Hagrid's head appeared in the gap. Hermione screamed.

"Merlin's beard, keep it down!" said Hagrid hastily, staring wildly over their heads. "Under that cloak, are yeh? Well, get in, get in!"

"I'm sorry!" Hermione gasped, as the four of them squeezed past Hagrid into the house and pulled the cloak off themselves so he could see them. "I just — oh, Hagrid!"

"It's nuthin', it's nuthin'!" said Hagrid hastily, shutting the door behind them and hurrying to close all the curtains, but Hermione continued to gaze up at him in horror. "And who mig't you be?" he gentle half-giant asked the new comer, trying in vain to distract them from the impending questions.

Hagrid's hair was matted with congealed blood, and his left eye had been reduced to a puffy slit amid a mass of purple-and-black bruises. There were many cuts on his face and hands, some of them still bleeding, and he was moving gingerly, which made Harry suspect broken ribs. It was obvious that he had only just got home; a thick black traveling cloak lay over the back of a chair and a haversack large enough to carry several small children leaned against the wall inside the door. Hagrid himself, twice the size of a normal man and three times as broad, was now limping over to the fire and placing a copper kettle over it.

"What happened to you?" Harry demanded, while Fang danced around them all, trying to lick their faces.

"Told yeh, nuthin'," said Hagrid firmly. "Want a cuppa?"

"Come off it," said Ron, "you're in a right state!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, I'm fine," said Hagrid, straightening up and turning to beam at them all, but wincing. "Blimey, it's good ter see you three again — had good summers, did yeh? Who's the lovely new girl with you?"

"Hagrid, you've been attacked!" said Ron.

"Fer the las' time, it's nuthin'!" said Hagrid firmly. Ayame winced at the tone. She remembered that tone from her father's when he didn't want to talk about something and pushed him way too much for the information.

"Would you say it was nothing if one of us turned up with a pound of mince instead of a face?" Ron demanded.

"You ought to go and see Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid," said Hermione anxiously. "Some of those cuts look nasty."

"I'm dealin' with it, all righ'?" said Hagrid repressively.

He walked across to the enormous wooden table that stood in the middle of his cabin and twitched aside a tea towel that had been lying on it. Underneath was a raw, bloody, green-tinged steak slightly larger than the average car tire.

"You're not going to eat that, are you, Hagrid?" said Ron, leaning in for a closer look. "It looks poisonous."

"It's s'posed ter look like that, it's dragon meat," Hagrid said. "An' I didn' get it ter eat."

He picked up the steak and slapped it over the left side of his face. Greenish blood trickled down into his beard as he gave a soft moan of satisfaction.

"Tha's better. It helps with the stingin', yeh know," the half-giant answered. "Now, are you goin' to answer me or are yeh goin' ta keep naggin' at me?"

"I'm Ayame Kuran, sir," Ayame answered the obviously distress man.

"So, are you going to tell us what's happened to you?" Harry asked.

"Can', Harry. Top secret. More'n me job's worth ter tell yeh that."

"Did the giants beat you up, Hagrid?" asked Hermione quietly.

Hagrid's fingers slipped on the dragon steak, and it slid squelchily onto his chest.

"Giants?" said Hagrid, catching the steak before it reached his belt and slapping it back over his face. "Who said anythin' abou' giants? Who yeh bin talkin' to? Who's told yeh what I've — who's said I've bin — eh?"

"We guessed," said Hermione apologetically.

"Oh, yeh did, did yeh?" said Hagrid, fixing her sternly with the eye that was not hidden by the steak.

"It was kind of … obvious," said Ron. Harry nodded.

Hagrid glared at them, then snorted, threw the steak onto the table again and strode back to the kettle, which was now whistling.

"Never known kids like you three fer knowin' more'n yeh oughta," he muttered, splashing boiling water into four of his bucket-shaped mugs. "An' I'm not complimentin' yeh, neither. Nosy, some'd call it. Interferin'," but his beard twitched.

"So, you have been to look for giants?" said Harry, grinning as he sat down at the table, a little bit of his canine showing. Hagrid set tea in front of each of them, sat down, picked up his steak again, and slapped it back over his face.

"Yeah, all righ'," he grunted, "I have."

"And you found them?" said Hermione in a hushed voice.

"Well, they're not that difficult ter find, ter be honest," said Hagrid. "Pretty big, see."

"Where are they?" said Ron.

"Mountains," said Hagrid unhelpfully.

"So why don't Muggles —?"

"They do," said Hagrid darkly. "O'ny their deaths are always put down ter mountaineerin' accidents, aren' they?" He adjusted the steak a little so that it covered the worst of the bruising.

"Come on, Hagrid, tell us what you've been up to!" said Ron. "Tell us about being attacked by the giants and Harry can tell you about being attacked by the dementors —"

Hagrid choked in his mug and dropped his steak at the same time; a large quantity of spit, tea, and dragon blood was sprayed over the table as Hagrid coughed and spluttered and the steak slid, with a soft splat, onto the floor.

"Whadda yeh mean, attacked by dementors?" growled Hagrid.

"Didn't you know?" Hermione asked him, wide-eyed.

"I don' know anything that's been happenin' since I left. I was on a secret mission, wasn' I, didn' wan' owls followin' me all over the place — ruddy dementors! Yeh're not serious?"

"Yeah, I am, they turned up in Little Whinging and attacked my cousin and me, and then the Ministry of Magic expelled me —"

"WHAT?"

"— and I had to go to a hearing and everything, but tell us about the giants first."

"You were expelled?"

"Tell us about your summer and I'll tell you about mine," Harry said cockily. Hagrid glared at him through his one open eye. Harry looked right back, an expression of innocent determination on his face. His eyes started to glow in the darkness and his fangs began to lengthen in agitation.

"Oh, all righ'," Hagrid said in a resigned voice.

He bent down and tugged the dragon steak out of Fang's mouth.

"Oh, Hagrid, don't, it's not hygien —" Hermione began, but Hagrid had already slapped the meat back over his swollen eye. He took another fortifying gulp of tea and then said, "Well, we set off righ' after term ended —"

"Madame Maxime went with you, then?" Hermione interjected.

"Yeah, tha's right," said Hagrid, and a softened expression appeared on the few inches of face that were not obscured by beard or green steak. "Yeah, it was jus' the pair of us. An' I'll tell yeh this, she's not afraid of roughin' it, Olympe. Yeh know, she's a fine, well-dressed woman, an' knowin' where we was goin' I wondered 'ow she'd feel abou' clamberin' over boulders an' sleepin' in caves an' tha', bu' she never complained once."

"You knew where you were going?" Harry asked. "You knew where the giants were?"

"Well, Dumbledore knew, an' he told us," said Hagrid.

"Are they hidden?" asked Ron. "Is it a secret, where they are?"

"Not really," said Hagrid, shaking his shaggy head. "It's jus' that mos' wizards aren' bothered where they are, s' long as it's a good long way away. But where they are's very difficult ter get ter, fer humans anyway, so we needed Dumbledore's instructions. Took us abou' a month ter get there —"

"A month?" said Ron, as though he had never heard of a journey lasting such a ridiculously long time. "But — why couldn't you just grab a Portkey or something?"

There was an odd expression in Hagrid's unobscured eye as he squinted at Ron; it was almost pitying.

"We're bein' watched, Ron," he said gruffly.

"What d'you mean?"

"Yeh don' understand," said Hagrid. "The Ministry's keepin' an eye on Dumbledore an' anyone they reckon's in league with him, an' —"

"We know about that," said Harry quickly, keen to hear the rest of Hagrid's story. "We know about the Ministry watching Dumbledore —"

"So, you couldn't use magic to get there?" asked Ron, looking thunderstruck. "You had to act like Muggles all the way?"

"Well, not exactly all the way," said Hagrid cagily. "We jus' had ter be careful, 'cause Olympe an' me, we stick out a bit —"

Ron made a stifled noise somewhere between a snort and a sniff and hastily took a gulp of tea.

"— so we're not hard ter follow. We was pretendin' we was goin' on holiday together, so we got inter France an' we made like we was headin' fer where Olympe's school is, 'cause we knew we was bein' tailed by someone from the Ministry. We had to go slow, 'cause I'm not really s'posed ter use magic an' we knew the Ministry'd be lookin' fer a reason ter run us in. But we managed ter give the berk tailin' us the slip round abou' Dee-John —"

"Ooooh, Dijon?" said Hermione excitedly. "I've been there on holiday, did you see —?" She fell silent at the look on Ron's face.

"We chanced a bit o' magic after that, and it wasn' a bad journey. Ran inter a couple o' mad trolls on the Polish border, an' I had a sligh' disagreement with a vampire in a pub in Minsk, but apart from tha', couldn't'a bin smoother.

"An' then we reached the place, an' we started trekkin' up through the mountains, lookin' fer signs of 'em …

"We had ter lay off the magic once we got near 'em. Partly 'cause they don' like wizards an' we didn' want ter put their backs up too soon, and partly 'cause Dumbledore had warned us You-Know-Who was bound ter be after the giants an' all. Said it was odds on he'd sent a messenger off ter them already. Told us ter be very careful of drawin' attention ter ourselves as we got nearer in case there was Death Eaters around." Hagrid paused for a long draft of tea.

"Go on!" said Harry urgently.

"Found 'em," said Hagrid baldly. "Went over a ridge one nigh' an' there they was, spread ou' underneath us. Little fires burnin' below an' huge shadows … It was like watchin' bits o' the mountain movin'."

"How big are they?" asked Ron in a hushed voice.

"'Bout twenty feet," said Hagrid casually. "Some o' the bigger ones mighta bin twenty-five."

"And how many were there?" asked Harry.

"I reckon abou' seventy or eighty," said Hagrid.

"Is that all?" said Hermione.

"Yep," said Hagrid sadly, "eighty left, an' there was loads once, musta bin a hundred diff'rent tribes from all over the world. But they've bin dyin' out fer ages. Wizards killed a few, o' course, but mostly they killed each other, an' now they're dyin' out faster than ever. They're not made ter live bunched up together like tha'. Dumbledore says it's our fault, it was the wizards who forced 'em to go an' made 'em live a good long way from us an' they had no choice but ter stick together fer their own protection."

"So," said Harry, "you saw them and then what?"

"Well, we waited till morning, didn' want ter go sneakin' up on 'em in the dark, fer our own safety," said Hagrid. "'Bout three in the mornin' they fell asleep jus' where they was sittin'. We didn' dare sleep. Fer one thing, we wanted ter make sure none of 'em woke up an' came up where we were, an' fer another, the snorin' was unbelievable. Caused an avalanche near mornin'.

"Anyway, once it was light we wen' down ter see 'em."

"Just like that?" said Ron, looking awestruck. "You just walked right into a giant camp?"

"Well, Dumbledore'd told us how ter do it," said Hagrid. "Give the Gurg gifts, show some respect, yeh know."

"Give the what gifts?" asked Harry.

"Gurg means chief in the giant language," answered Ayame.

"How could you tell which one was the Gurg?" asked Ron looking at the brunette funnily. Hagrid grunted in amusement.

"No problem," he said. "He was the biggest, the ugliest, an' the laziest. Sittin' there waitin' ter be brought food by the others. Dead goats an' such like. Name o' Karkus. I'd put him at twenty-two, twenty-three feet, an' the weight of a couple o' bull elephants. Skin like rhino hide an' all."

"And you just walked up to him?" said Hermione breathlessly.

"Well … down ter him, where he was lyin' in the valley. They was in this dip between four pretty high mountains, see, beside a mountain lake, an' Karkus was lyin' by the lake roarin' at the others ter feed him an' his wife. Olympe an' I went down the mountainside —"

"But didn't they try and kill you when they saw you?" asked Ron incredulously.

"It was def'nitely on some of their minds," said Hagrid, shrugging, "but we did what Dumbledore told us ter do, which was ter hold our gift up high an' keep our eyes on the Gurg an' ignore the others. So tha's what we did. An' the rest of 'em went quiet an' watched us pass an' we got right up ter Karkus's feet an' we bowed an' put our present down in front o' him."

"What do you give a giant?" asked Ron eagerly. "Food?"

"Nah, he can get food all righ' fer himself," said Hagrid. "We took him magic. Giants like magic, jus' don't like us usin' it against 'em. Anyway, that firs' day we gave him a branch o' Gubraithian fire."

Hermione said "wow" softly, but Harry, Ayame and Ron, frowned in puzzlement.

"A branch of —"

"Everlasting fire," said Hermione irritably, "you ought to know that by now, Professor Flitwick's mentioned it at least twice in class!"

"Well anyway," said Hagrid quickly, intervening before Ron could answer back, "Dumbledore'd bewitched this branch to burn evermore, which isn' somethin' any wizard could do, an' so I lies it down in the snow by Karkus's feet and says, 'A gift to the Gurg of the giants from Albus Dumbledore, who sends his respectful greetings.'"

"And what did Karkus say?" asked Harry eagerly, rolling his eyes at his friends antic.

"Nothin'," said Hagrid. "Didn' speak English."

"You're kidding!"

"Didn' matter," said Hagrid imperturbably, "Dumbledore had warned us tha' migh' happen. Karkus knew enough to yell fer a couple o' giants who knew our lingo an' they translated fer us."

"And did he like the present?" asked Ron.

"Oh yeah, it went down a storm once they understood what it was," said Hagrid, turning his dragon steak over to press the cooler side to his swollen eye. "Very pleased. So then I said, 'Albus Dumbledore asks the Gurg to speak with his messenger when he returns tomorrow with another gift.'"

"Why couldn't you speak to them that day?" asked Hermione.

"Dumbledore wanted us ter take it very slow," said Hagrid. "Let 'em see we kept our promises. We'll come back tomorrow with another present, an' then we do come back with another present — gives a good impression, see? An' gives them time ter test out the firs' present an' find out it's a good one, an' get 'em eager fer more. In any case, giants like Karkus — overload 'em with information an' they'll kill yeh jus' to simplify things. So, we bowed outta the way an' went off an' found ourselves a nice little cave ter spend that night in, an' the followin' mornin' we went back an' this time we found Karkus sittin' up waitin' fer us lookin' all eager."

"And you talked to him?"

"Oh yeah. Firs' we presented him with a nice battle helmet — goblin-made an' indestructible, yeh know — an' then we sat down an' we talked."

"Not much," said Hagrid. "Listened mostly. But there were good signs. He'd heard o' Dumbledore, heard he'd argued against the killin' of the last giants in Britain. Karkus seemed ter be quite int'rested in what Dumbledore had ter say. An' a few o' the others, 'specially the ones who had some English, they gathered round an' listened too. We were hopeful when we left that day. Promised ter come back next day with another present.

"But that night it all wen' wrong."

"What d'you mean?" said Ron quickly.

"Well, like I say, they're not meant ter live together, giants," said Hagrid sadly. "Not in big groups like that. They can' help themselves, they half kill each other every few weeks. The men fight each other an' the women fight each other, the remnants of the old tribes fight each other, an' that's even without squabbles over food an' the best fires an' sleepin' spots. Yeh'd think, seein' as how their whole race is abou' finished, they'd lay off each other, but …" Hagrid sighed deeply.

"That night a fight broke out, we saw it from the mouth of our cave, lookin' down on the valley. Went on fer hours, yeh wouldn' believe the noise. An' when the sun came up the snow was scarlet an' his head was lyin' at the bottom o' the lake."

"Whose head?" gasped Hermione.

"Karkus's," said Hagrid heavily. "There was a new Gurg, Golgomath." He sighed deeply. "Well, we hadn' bargained on a new Gurg two days after we'd made friendly contact with the firs' one, an' we had a funny feelin' Golgomath wouldn' be so keen ter listen to us, but we had ter try."

"You went to speak to him?" asked Ron incredulously. "After you'd watched him rip off another giant's head?"

"' Course we did," said Hagrid, "we hadn' gone all that way ter give up after two days! We wen' down with the next present we'd meant ter give ter Karkus.

"I knew it was no go before I'd opened me mouth. He was sitting there wearin' Karkus's helmet, leerin' at us as we got nearer. He's massive, one o' the biggest ones there. Black hair an' matchin' teeth an' a necklace o' bones. Human-lookin' bones, some of 'em. Well, I gave it a go — held out a great roll o' dragon skin — an' said A gift fer the Gurg of the giants —' Nex' thing I knew, I was hangin' upside down in the air by me feet, two of his mates had grabbed me." Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth.

"How did you get out of that?" asked Harry curiously.

"Wouldn'ta done if Olympe hadn' bin there," said Hagrid. "She pulled out her wand an' did some o' the fastes' spellwork I've ever seen. Ruddy marvelous. Hit the two holdin' me right in the eyes with Conjunctivitus Curses an' they dropped me straightaway — bu' we were in trouble then, 'cause we'd used magic against 'em, an' that's what giants hate abou' wizards. We had ter leg it an' we knew there was no way we was going ter be able ter march inter camp again."

"Blimey, Hagrid," said Ron quietly.

"So how come it's taken you so long to get home if you were only there for three days?" asked Hermione.

"We didn' leave after three days!" said Hagrid, looking outraged. "Dumbledore was relyin' on us!"

"But you've just said there was no way you could go back!"

"Not by daylight, we couldn', no. We just had ter rethink a bit. Spent a couple o' days lyin' low up in the cave an' watchin'. An' wha' we saw wasn' good."

"Did he rip off more heads?" asked Hermione, sounding squeamish.

"No," said Hagrid. "I wish he had."

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean we soon found out he didn' object ter all wizards — just us."

"Death Eaters?" said Harry quickly.

"Yep," said Hagrid darkly. "Couple of 'em were visitin' him ev'ry day, bringin' gifts ter the Gurg, an' he wasn' dangling them upside down."

"How d'you know they were Death Eaters?" said Ron.

"Because I recognized one of 'em," Hagrid growled. "Macnair, remember him? Bloke they sent ter kill Buckbeak? Maniac, he is. Likes killin' as much as Golgomath, no wonder they were gettin' on so well."

"So Macnair's persuaded the giants to join You-Know-Who?" said Hermione desperately.

"Hold yer hippogriffs, I haven' finished me story yet!" said Hagrid indignantly, who, considering he had not wanted to tell them anything in the first place, now seemed to be rather enjoying himself. "Me an' Olympe talked it over an' we agreed, jus' 'cause the Gurg looked like favorin' You-Know-Who didn' mean all of 'em would. We had ter try an' persuade some o' the others, the ones who hadn' wanted Golgomath as Gurg."

"How could you tell which ones they were?" asked Ron.

"Well, they were the ones bein' beaten to a pulp, weren' they?" said Hagrid patiently. "The ones with any sense were keepin' outta Golgomath's way, hidin' out in caves roun' the gully jus' like we were. So, we decided we'd go pokin' round the caves by night an' see if we couldn' persuade a few o' them."

"You went poking around dark caves looking for giants?" said Ron with awed respect in his voice.

"Well, it wasn' the giants who worried us most," said Hagrid. "We were more concerned abou' the Death Eaters. Dumbledore had told us before we wen' not ter tangle with 'em if we could avoid it, an' the trouble was they knew we was around — 'spect Golgomath told him abou' us. At night when the giants were sleepin' an' we wanted ter be creepin' inter the caves, Macnair an' the other one were sneakin' round the mountains lookin' fer us. I was hard put to stop Olympe jumpin' out at them," said Hagrid, the corners of his mouth lifting his wild beard. "She was rarin' ter attack 'em. … she's somethin' when she's roused, Olympe. … Fiery, yeh know … 'spect it's the French in her …" Hagrid gazed misty-eyed into the fire. Harry allowed him thirty seconds' reminiscence before clearing his throat loudly.

"So, what happened? Did you ever get near any of the other giants?" he asked impatiently.

"What? Oh … oh yeah, we did. Yeah, on the third night after Karkus was killed, we crept outta the cave we'd bin hidin' in and headed back down inter the gully, keepin' our eyes skinned fer the Death Eaters. Got inside a few o' the caves, no go — then, in abou' the sixth one, we found three giants hidin'."

"Cave must've been cramped," said Ron.

"Wasn' room ter swing a kneazle," said Hagrid.

"Didn't they attack you when they saw you?" asked Hermione.

"Probably woulda done if they'd bin in any condition," said Hagrid, "but they was badly hurt, all three o' them. Golgomath's lot had beaten 'em unconscious; they'd woken up an' crawled inter the nearest shelter they could find. Anyway, one o' them had a bit of English an' 'e translated fer the others, an' what we had ter say didn' seem ter go down too badly. So we kep' goin' back, visitin' the wounded. … I reckon we had abou' six or seven o' them convinced at one poin'."

"Six or seven?" said Ron eagerly. "Well that's not bad — are they going to come over here and start fighting You-Know-Who with us?"

But Hermione said, "What do you mean 'at one point,' Hagrid?" Hagrid looked at her sadly.

"Golgomath's lot raided the caves. The ones tha' survived didn' wan' no more ter to do with us after that."

"So … so there aren't any giants coming?" said Ron, looking disappointed.

"Nope," said Hagrid, heaving a deep sigh as he turned over his steak again and applied the cooler side to his face, "but we did wha' we meant ter do, we gave 'em Dumbledore's message an' some o' them heard it an' I 'spect some o' them'll remember it. Jus' maybe, them that don' want ter stay around Golgomath'll move outta the mountains, an' there's gotta be a chance they'll remember Dumbledore's friendly to 'em. … Could be they'll come …"

Snow was filling up the window now. Harry became aware that the knees of his robes were soaked through; Fang was drooling with his head in Harry's lap. He stroked the dog's head for a while, before taking Ayame's hand in his, entwining their fingers together.

"Hagrid?" said Hermione quietly after a while.

"Mmm?"

"Did you … was there any sign of … did you hear anything about your … your … mother while you were there?" Hagrid's unobscured eye rested upon her, and Hermione looked rather scared. "I'm sorry … I … forget it —"

"Dead," Hagrid grunted. "Died years ago. They told me."

"Oh … I'm … I'm really sorry," said Hermione in a very small voice.

Hagrid shrugged his massive shoulders. "No need," he said shortly. "Can' remember her much. Wasn' a great mother."

They were silent again. Hermione glanced nervously at Harry, Ayame and Ron, plainly wanting them to speak.

"But you still haven't explained how you got in this state, Hagrid," Ron said, gesturing toward Hagrid's bloodstained face.

"Or why you're back so late," said Harry. "Sirius says Madame Maxime got back ages ago. By the way, we have the pureblood and aristocrat vampires from the Kuran clan with us."

"Who attacked you?" said Ron.

"I haven' bin attacked!" said Hagrid emphatically. "I — waita minute, are they really?" But the rest of his words were drowned in a sudden outbreak of rapping on the door. Hermione gasped; her mug slipped through her fingers and smashed on the floor; Fang yelped. All five of them stared at the window beside the doorway. The shadow of somebody small and squat rippled across the thin curtain.

"It's her!" Ron whispered.

"Get under here!" Harry said quickly; seizing the Invisibility Cloak he whirled it over himself, Ayame and Hermione while Ron tore around the table and dived beneath the cloak as well. Huddled together they backed away into a corner. Fang was barking madly at the door. Hagrid looked thoroughly confused.

"Hagrid, hide our mugs!"

Hagrid seized Harry's, Ayame's and Ron's mugs and shoved them under the cushion in Fang's basket. Fang was now leaping up at the door; Hagrid pushed him out of the way with his foot and pulled it open.

Professor Umbridge was standing in the doorway wearing her green tweed cloak and a matching hat with earflaps. Lips pursed, she leaned back so as to see Hagrid's face; she barely reached his navel.

"So," she said slowly and loudly, as though speaking to somebody deaf. "You're Hagrid, are you?"

Without waiting for an answer, she strolled into the room, her bulging eyes rolling in every direction.

"Get away," she snapped, waving her handbag at Fang, who had bounded up to her and was attempting to lick her face.

"Er — I don' want ter be rude," said Hagrid, staring at her, "but who the ruddy hell are you?"

"My name is Dolores Umbridge."

Her eyes were sweeping the cabin. Twice they stared directly into the corner where Harry and Ayame stood, sandwiched between Ron and Hermione.

"Dolores Umbridge?" Hagrid said, sounding thoroughly confused. "I thought you were one o' them Ministry — don' you work with Fudge?"

"I was Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, yes," said Umbridge, now pacing around the cabin, taking in every tiny detail within, from the haversack against the wall to the abandoned traveling cloak. "I am now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher —"

"Tha's brave of yeh," said Hagrid, "there's not many'd take tha' job anymore —"

"— and Hogwarts High Inquisitor," said Umbridge, giving no sign that she had heard him.

"Wha's that?" said Hagrid, frowning.

"Precisely what I was going to ask," said Umbridge, pointing at the broken shards of china on the floor that had been Hermione's mug.

"Oh," said Hagrid, with a most unhelpful glance toward the corner where Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood hidden, "oh, tha' was … was Fang. He broke a mug. So, I had ter use this one instead."

Hagrid pointed to the mug from which he had been drinking, one hand still clamped over the dragon steak pressed to his eye. Umbridge stood facing him now, taking in every detail of his appearance instead of the cabin's.

"I heard voices," she said quietly.

"I was talkin' ter Fang," said Hagrid stoutly.

"And was he talking back to you?"

"Well … in a manner o' speakin'," said Hagrid, looking uncomfortable. "I sometimes say Fang's near enough human —"

"There are three sets of footprints in the snow leading from the castle doors to your cabin," said Umbridge sleekly.

Hermione gasped; Harry clapped a hand over her mouth. Luckily, Fang was sniffing loudly around the hem of Professor Umbridge's robes, and she did not appear to have heard.

"Well, I on'y jus' got back," said Hagrid, waving an enormous hand at the haversack. "Maybe someone came ter call earlier an' I missed em.

"There are no footsteps leading away from your cabin door."

"Well I … I don' know why that'd be. …" said Hagrid, tugging nervously at his beard and again glancing toward the corner where Harry, Ayame, Ron, and Hermione stood, as though asking for help. "Erm …"

Umbridge wheeled around and strode the length of the cabin, looking around carefully. She bent and peered under the bed. She opened Hagrid's cupboards. She passed within two inches of where Harry, Ayame, Ron, and Hermione stood pressed against the wall; Harry actually pulled in his stomach as she walked by. After looking carefully inside the enormous cauldron Hagrid used for cooking she wheeled around again and said, "What has happened to you? How did you sustain those injuries?"

Hagrid hastily removed the dragon steak from his face, which in Harry's opinion was a mistake, because the black-and-purple bruising all around his eye was now clearly visible, not to mention the large amount of fresh and congealed blood on his face. "Oh, I … had a bit of an accident," he said lamely.

"What sort of accident?"

"I-I tripped."

"You tripped," she repeated coolly.

"Yeah, tha's right. Over … over a friends broomstick. I don' fly, meself. Well, look at the size o' me, I don' reckon there's a broomstick that'd hold me. Friend o' mine breeds Abraxan horses, I dunno if you've ever seen 'em, big beasts, winged, yeh know, I've had a bit of a ride on one o' them an' it was —"

"Where have you been?" asked Umbridge, cutting coolly through Hagrid's babbling.

"Where've I …?"

"Been, yes," she said. "Term started more than two months ago. Another teacher has had to cover your classes. None of your colleagues has been able to give me any information as to your whereabouts. You left no address. Where have you been?" There was a pause in which Hagrid stared at her with his newly uncovered eye. Harry could almost hear his brain working furiously.

"I — I've been away for me health," he said.

"For your health," said Umbridge. Her eyes traveled over Hagrid's discolored and swollen face; dragon blood dripped gently onto his waistcoat in the silence. "I see."

"Yeah," said Hagrid, "bit o' — o' fresh air, yeh know —"

"Yes, as gamekeeper fresh air must be so difficult to come by," said Umbridge sweetly. The small patch of Hagrid's face that was not black or purple flushed.

"Well — change o' scene, yeh know —"

"Mountain scenery?" said Umbridge swiftly. ' _She knows_ ', Harry thought desperately.

"Mountains?" Hagrid repeated, clearly thinking fast. "Nope, South of France fer me. Bit o' sun an' … an' sea."

"Really?" said Umbridge. "You don't have much of a tan."

"Yeah … well … sensitive skin," said Hagrid, attempting an ingratiating smile. Harry noticed that two of his teeth had been knocked out. Umbridge looked at him coldly; his smile faltered. Then she hoisted her handbag a little higher into the crook of her arm and said, "I shall, of course, be informing the Minister of your late return."

"Righ'," said Hagrid, nodding.

"You ought to know too that as High Inquisitor it is my unfortunate but necessary duty to inspect my fellow teachers. So, I daresay we shall meet again soon enough." She turned sharply and marched back to the door.

"You're inspectin' us?" Hagrid echoed blankly, looking after her.

"Oh yes," said Umbridge softly, looking back at him with her hand on the door handle. "The Ministry is determined to weed out unsatisfactory teachers, Hagrid. Good night."

She left, closing the door behind her with a snap. Harry made to pull off the Invisibility Cloak but Hermione seized his wrist.

"Not yet," she breathed in his ear. "She might not be gone yet."

Hagrid seemed to be thinking the same way; he stumped across the room and pulled back the curtain an inch or so.

"She's goin' back ter the castle," he said in a low voice. "Blimey … inspectin' people, is she?"

"Yeah," said Harry, pulling the cloak off. "Trelawney's on probation already. …"

"Um … what sort of thing are you planning to do with us in class, Hagrid?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, don' you worry abou' that, I've got a great load o' lessons planned," said Hagrid enthusiastically, scooping up his dragon steak from the table and slapping it over his eye again. "I've bin keepin' a couple o' creatures saved fer yer O.W.L. year, you wait, they're somethin' really special."

"Erm … special in what way?" asked Hermione tentatively.

"I'm not sayin'," said Hagrid happily. "I don' want ter spoil the surprise."

"Look, Hagrid," said Hermione urgently, dropping all pretense, "Professor Umbridge won't be at all happy if you bring anything to class that's too dangerous —"

"Dangerous?" said Hagrid, looking genially bemused. "Don' be silly, I wouldn' give yeh anythin' dangerous! I mean, all righ', they can look after themselves —"

"Hagrid, you've got to pass Umbridge's inspection, and to do that it would really be better if she saw you teaching us how to look after porlocks, how to tell the difference between knarls and hedgehogs, stuff like that!" said Hermione earnestly.

"But tha's not very interestin', Hermione," said Hagrid. "The stuff I've got's much more impressive, I've bin bringin' 'em on fer years, I reckon I've got the on'y domestic herd in Britain —"

"Hagrid … please …" said Hermione, a note of real desperation in her voice. "Umbridge is looking for any excuse to get rid of teachers she thinks are too close to Dumbledore. Please, Hagrid, teach us something dull that's bound to come up in our O.W.L. …"

"Hagrid," Harry started. "She's the one that is the ring leader on the Creature legislation. She hates everyone that is not complete human. The pink toad has been being rude to Ayame and the new transfer students just for who they are." But Hagrid merely yawned widely and cast a one-eyed look of longing toward the vast bed in the corner.

"Lis'en, it's bin a long day an' it's late," he said, patting Hermione gently on the shoulder, so that her knees gave way and hit the floor with a thud. "Oh — sorry —" He pulled her back up by the neck of her robes. "Look, don' you go worryin' abou' me, I promise yeh I've got really good stuff planned fer yer lessons now I'm back. … Now you lot had better get back up to the castle, an' don' forget ter wipe yer footprints out behind yeh!"

"I dunno if you got through to him," said Ron a short while later when, having checked that the coast was clear, they walked back up to the castle through the thickening snow, leaving no trace behind them due to the Obliteration Charm Hermione was performing as they went.

"Then I'll go back again tomorrow," said Hermione determinedly. "I'll plan his lessons for him if I have to. I don't care if she throws out Trelawney but she's not taking Hagrid!"

* * *

A/N2: Please R&R. Also thanks for all the people who had Followed, Favorite or just read my work. Love you all very much! NO FLAMES, PLEASE! If you want to leave a comment of my skills as a writer just tell me how I can improve! If you really don't like it, just leave or don't read all together. This place is suppose to be for people who likes/loves to either read or write. A place where we can hone our skills at creativity! You shouldn't flame other people's works but help them see what they're doing wrong. Thanks everyone! Love you, very much! If anyone would like to help beta read and help me with something, PM me, please. I haven't been able to edit my work and I know there are some mistakes some where. English isn't my mother language, so my story isn't without mistakes. Who ever wants to help me with it is totally welcome.


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